Investigating Rebecca's incarceration, Deborah Glass found it "the saddest case I have investigated in my time as Ombudsman" in findings published on Tuesday. Loading Jailing the mentally impaired woman for a year and a half because there was "nowhere for her to go" breached her human rights, the state's Ombudsman found in a report urging more investment in accommodation and support for vulnerable people. Ms Glass said during Rebecca's stay in prison across 2016 and 2017, the 39-year-old spent up to 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, even after she was found not guilty of criminal charges by way of mental impairment. Rebecca (not her real name) was arrested in 2016 at her parents' home and charged with breaching an intervention order and resisting police. Without accommodation and given her risk of reoffending, she was remanded in custody and bail was never an option.

She was later found unfit to stand trial and then found not guilty by way of mental impairment. But because authorities could not find her suitable accommodation in the community, she was kept in jail under the guard of officers without the training to properly care for her, and her disability worsened. By the time she left prison she had spent far longer in custody than she would if she had pleaded guilty. "She remained in prison simply because there was nowhere for her to go," Ms Glass said. Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass. Credit:Simon Schluter "While agencies mostly followed procedure, and in some cases went beyond them in an attempt to provide support, the state failed Rebecca. Her long and damaging stay in prison was a breach of her human rights."

Under Victorian law, people must not be kept in prison unless there is no practicable alternative. The Ombudsman found Rebecca's case was not an isolated one, as other people with disabilities spent long periods in jail. The Age this year reported the plight of "Ryan", who spent 18 months in jail despite being unfit to stand trial on relatively minor sexual assault charges. In her findings, Ms Glass recommended the winner of November's state election invest in secure treatment facilities other than prison for people found unfit to stand trial or not guilty by way of mental impairment. The Dame Phyllis Frost Centre. Credit:Angela Wylie Victoria has a dedicated non-custodial unit for men but none for women, and the secure mental-health Thomas Embling Hospital is full to capacity and only admits people with treatable conditions. Rebecca's condition cannot be treated.

Ms Glass also recommended state government departments: Consider options for specialist jail units and services for women with intellectual disabilities

Request the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission review the practices of solitary confinement, strip-searching and the use of restraints to mentally impaired women prisoners

Appoint a senior staffer to oversee service responses to people who have been found unfit to stand trial Ms Glass said authorities could not say how many other cases there were similar to Rebecca's because there were "fragmented responsibilities" at bureaucratic level and no one agency or minister oversaw the Crime and Mental Impairment Act. "Whatever the future holds, we need to ask ourselves how a humane society can justify such treatment," Ms Glass said. "Whoever forms government in November, fixing this must be a priority."

Last year, County Court judge Mark Taft described Rebecca's case as a profound injustice, and said it was unimaginable that someone in her position had spent so long incarcerated. Her case "reflects very poorly on the criminal justice system and on the welfare system". Rebecca is now in community housing. Sonia Law, Victoria Legal Aid's program manager for mental health and disability law, said Rebecca's case was reflective of a criminal justice system where women were "second-class citizens". "She should never have been in custody and she stayed there far too long," Ms Law said. She said Legal Aid was a aware of a handful of cases similar to Rebecca's, and there was a need for greater clarity for which agency was responsible for supporting mentally impaired people. She endorsed Ms Glass' call for better support, as community-based mental health services hadn't increased in line with Victoria's population growth. This was notable in prison, Ms Law said, given people with mental health problems were now more likely to end up in jail, and if sent to prison, stayed there longer.

A government spokeswoman said $43 million had been invested in delivering 44 extra beds and services at Dame Phyllis Frost for women with mental health issues. "There are a small number of people in the justice system who have extremely complex needs, and the department is always working to improve responses to these cases," she said. "We will consider the report’s recommendations and how we can increase access to secure mental health facilities for people with complex needs." The state opposition has been contacted for comment.