The development of the 218 Center in Scotland on its own has not represented a reduction in the use of prison; hence the number of women in prison has continued to rise. Unless there is real change in sentencing practices, the numbers of women imprisoned will not be reduced. 218 on its own cannot be expected to impact significantly on women’s imprisonment in Scotland. However, two recent initiatives that appear to have been better able to impact directly on this are the use of home detention curfews (allowing women to be released early from prison through electronic monitoring) and mandatory supervised attendance orders in place of custody for nonpayment of fines. Individual pockets of innovation such as the 218 Center are not in themselves enough to reverse the unprecedented increase in women’s imprisonment. Rather, there is an urgent need for strategies aimed at reducing the use of imprisonment and attaining much needed penal reform. The 218 Center is an innovative resource which was set up in Glasgow in 2003 for women in the criminal justice system. It offers women an opportunity for ‘time out’ of their normal environment without resorting to ‘time in’ custody, providing both residential and community-based services. This discussion is concerned with identifying and discussing the political and philosophical tensions that have impacted upon the 218 Center in its initial years of operation. In particular, the tension between providing a service that is responsive to women’s needs while fulfilling justice-related policy objectives has been an ongoing feature of the service and of debates about how its effectiveness should be defined and assessed. Tables, notes, and references