Search results for ‘Subject term:"learning disabilities"’ Sort:
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The first critical steps through the criminal justice system for persons with intellectual disabilities
- Authors:
- MERCIER Céline, CROCKER Anne G.
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 39(2), June 2011, pp.130-138.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This paper discusses the initial steps of the judicial process for persons with intellectual disabilities who are suspected of a minor offense in the context of the Canadian criminal justice system (CJS). During this stage, plaintiffs, police officers, and crown attorneys make a series of decisions that will have a significant impact on the course of the judicial process. The main objective of this study was to document the criteria that influence dispositions by police officers and crown attorneys about persons with intellectual disabilities in the CJS. A secondary objective was to report suggested improvements to better support them throughout the judicial process. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants from the CJS and from service and community organisations. The informants identified a series of implicit criteria that influence the decisions made and dispositions taken in the case of a suspected offence. Suggestions for improvement include early screening for intellectual disability, educating police officers and crown attorneys about intellectual disabilities, a preference for the use of summons to appear over other types of procedures, and drafting memorandums of understanding between various organisations and police services regarding persons with intellectual disabilities. The findings emphasise the need for more effective screening and diversion procedures for persons with intellectual disabilities within the CJS.
Anna's story of life in prison
- Authors:
- BOODLE Anna, ELLEM Kathy, CHENOWETH Lesley
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42(2), 2014, pp.117-124.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
People with an intellectual disability in prison can be at increased risk of victimisation, segregation and isolation (Mullen ). Prison systems usually have very few resources to cater to this group's particular needs, and many people may re-enter the community with little or no rehabilitation, poor social connections, poor mental health and little chance in finding employment and living a crime-free life (Baldry et al. ). Gathering the lived expertise of ex-prisoners with an intellectual disability can help others to better understand these experiences. This article is about Anna Boodle's story of imprisonment in Queensland, Australia. Anna participated in a larger PhD study on the life stories of ex-prisoners with an intellectual disability. It is apparent from her story, and the other stories in the study, that there is a need for more humane responses to people with an intellectual disability who offend. Anna's story is a tale of hope to others that a good life is possible after imprisonment. (Publisher abstract)
Does familiarity breed contempt? A conceptual and theoretical analysis of 'mate crime'
- Author:
- DOHERTY Gerard
- Publisher:
- Howard League for Penal Reform
- Publication year:
- 2013
- Pagination:
- 34
- Place of publication:
- London
In this article for the Howard League for Penal Reform based on his 2013 John Sunley Prize winning masters dissertation, the author critically assesses the usefulness of the concept of ‘mate crime’, as a means of understanding offending behaviour against disabled people. The phenomenon of ‘mate crime’ occurs when crimes are committed against disabled people by those they consider to be their friends. The research found that familiarity was not a bar to hate crime offending, and that the concept of ‘mate crime’ is of significance in understanding the nature of targeted violence against disabled people. Includes are brief details of the nine unlawful killings which were subject to case analysis, eight of which led to convictions of murder for at least one of the perpetrators involved and one led to convictions of manslaughter. (Original abstract)
The emerging role of the Registered Intermediary with the vulnerable witness and offender: facilitating communication with the police and members of the judiciary
- Author:
- O'MAHONY Brendan M.
- Journal article citation:
- British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 38(3), September 2010, pp.232-237.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Being interviewed by the police as a witness or as a suspect can be a frightening experience for many people; these feelings can be multiplied for many people who have a learning disability and who do not understand the legal proceedings. Intermediaries were introduced by the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 to help facilitate communication between the police, the courts and the vulnerable witness. Research has shown that this measure has been valuable in assisting the vulnerable witness to testify. This study was an exploratory examination of the recent use of intermediaries with defendants. The defendant does not by law have the right to an intermediary; however the Coroner's and Justice Bill (2008-09), is attempting to amend this situation. Meanwhile judges are starting to request an intermediary for vulnerable defendants. A mixed method approach was used in this study. Unstructured interviews were held with five intermediaries who had been instructed by the Intermediary Referral Board to work as an intermediary with cases involving defendants. The themes that emerged from these interviews were then used in the design of a questionnaire which was disseminated to 33 intermediaries. The results found that intermediaries were very positive about the need for vulnerable defendants to have support. The intermediaries also highlighted that they required additional training and they raised concerns about how their role was viewed by the courts when they were assisting defendants.
Scant justice
- Author:
- WILLIAMS Corin
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 5.3.09, 2009, pp.26-27.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
People with learning disabilities can be more easily manipulated by both criminals and the police. The author discusses issues such as false confessions, a lack of understanding of the criminal justice system and the lack of rehabilitation opportunities in prison if convicted. The article briefly discusses the recent case of Mohamad Abdulaziz Rashid Saeed-Alim, a young man with Asperger's syndrome and learning disabilities, who had been converted to Islam by extremists and then been persuaded to attempt mass murder.
Policy to protect
- Author:
- MAPP Sue
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 27.6.96, 1996, p.10.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
The author reports on a policy for handling allegations of abuse involving people with learning difficulties which is the result of pioneering inter-agency co-operation in Manchester.
There to help 2: ensuring provision of appropriate adults for vulnerable adults detained or interviewed by police
- Author:
- BATH Chris
- Publisher:
- National Appropriate Adult Network
- Publication year:
- 2019
- Pagination:
- 115
- Place of publication:
- Ashford
Based on Freedom of Information Act requests to police forces in England and Wales, this report provides an updated on the need for, and access to, appropriate adults (AA) for vulnerable adults in police custody. Vulnerable adults may have a mental illness, learning disability, brain injury or autism. The report provides information on: the identification of need for an AA amongst adult suspects; the application of the AA safeguard (the extent to which vulnerable adult suspects actually receive the support of an AA); and the availability of organised AA provision in England and Wales. Based on police figures, the report finds that in the 12 months ending 31st March 2018 at least 111,445 police detentions and voluntary interviews of vulnerable adult suspects were carried out without the support of an 'appropriate adult'. It also found that where police had no access to an organised AA scheme, they were half as likely to record an adult as needing one. Despite being a key recommendation of There to Help (2015), local authorities are only legally required to run schemes for children, not for vulnerable adults. The report makes a number of recommendations. (Edited publisher abstract)
Accused of murder: supporting the communication needs of a vulnerable defendant at court and at the police station
- Author:
- O'MAHONY Brendan M.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Learning Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, 3(2), 2012, pp.77-84.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
Witnesses or defendants with psychological vulnerabilities such as learning disabilities may be disadvantaged in understanding questions and the implications of the answers that they provide. The Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 introduced the role of the Registered Intermediary to the criminal justice system allowing vulnerable witnesses to have access to communication experts to facilitate communication during police interviews and whilst providing testimony at court. This paper examines the interaction between an intermediary, a vulnerable defendant and barristers and the judge in a courtroom. The aim of the paper is to consider how the communication needs of vulnerable defendants should be addressed in the criminal justice system. The defendant was a young adult assessed as having an IQ of 66 and a receptive vocabulary score similar to that which might be expected of a 7-year-old child. The defendant had been charged with murder and had entered a plea of self-defence against the charge. The paper highlights the complexities of the language that is used by lawyers in the courtroom and the difficulties that this can cause for a vulnerable defendant. Additionally, it reveals the difficulties that the police caution can present to a vulnerable suspect in custody.
Vulnerable defendants in the criminal courts
- Author:
- EPSTEIN Rona
- Journal article citation:
- Criminal Law and Justice Weekly, 13.3.10, 2010, pp.152-153.
- Publisher:
- LexisNexis Butterworths
- Place of publication:
- London
A report by the Penal Reform Trust, Vulnerable defendants in the criminal courts, reviewed the support in the court system for adults with learning disabilities and the provision of support for children. It has found that an unwieldy justice system is undermining the ability of thousands of vulnerable adults and children to understand what is happening to them in court.
Integration of recent reviews on offenders with intellectual disabilities
- Author:
- LINDSAY William R.
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 15(2), 2002, pp.111-119.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
Reviews 11 articles covering aspects of offenders and offending. The reviews highlights the following issues: epidemiology of offending and offenders; vulnerability; remedial and preventative intervention; and assessment of the offence. Issues of the importance of families and carers, female offenders, recidivism/outcome and research were also mentioned.