People with learning disabilities at risk of committing - Jan
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Transcript People with learning disabilities at risk of committing - Jan
Screening for learning
disabilities in prisons
Glynis Murphy, Tizard Centre, Kent Univ
[email protected]
Offenders with LD: prevalence
Interpret data with care!
Samples vary, methods vary!
Eugenics era: assumed to be very high rates
but little good data (eg assessed only those
referred with problems; used incorrect norms)
In USA: early studies showed 10% of prisoners
have ID; recent studies: 3% & less
In Australia: often get figures around 10% or
more; higher in Aboriginal populations; affected
by ethnicity? + lack of diversion possibilities?
Offenders & ID: prevalence
In UK: studies in 1990s
- police station: 5-9% acc to Gudjonsson et al
- probation: 6% acc to Mason & Murphy 2002
- prison: <1% - Harnett, Holland & Murphy, ‘95
More recent UK studies suggested 7% of
prisoners have learning disabilities – e.g.
Mottram et al study in NW prisons – but
methodology criticised
Do exact numbers matter?
What prisons currently do
In the No One Knows Programme, Jenny
Talbot (Prison Reform Trust) asked prisons
whether they screen people for learning
disabilities or difficulties
No routine screening going on at time (2008)
Clear from rest of ‘No One Knows’ that
prisoners with LD were very disadvantaged in
terms of: accessing visitors, doctor appointments, ordering meals, accessing work
training, + accessing treatment programmes.
Bradley report
Amongst other recommendations, asserted
that prisons should screen for LD
Clearly best to screen at entry to CJS – i.e. at
police station – that is still (my) long term aim
Meanwhile let us try screening in prison!
Common objection: but what can we do if we
find we have got prisoners with LD?
Our answer: all sorts of things! - AND if you
don’t know who has LD, how can you help
them at all?
How can we screen?
Common tools & requirements
WAIS-IV - gold standard IQ test; takes
45mins-1hr; done by psychologists only
WASI - short form IQ test; takes 20 mins;
done by psychologists & a few others
HASI – much like the WASI; validated in CJS;
can train few others to do; over-estimates IQ
LIPS – takes 15 mins; vocab & clock drawing;
can train others to do it; validated in CJS
LDSQ – 10 mins max; very easy to train
others; validated in community
Dept of Health trial in 2010/11
None of tests ideal (adaptive behaviour issue)
BUT: Used LDSQ to screen all new entrants
to 3 prisons in a 3 mth trial
Durham, Birmingham, Wormwood Scrubs
Screening done by LD nurse in healthcare in
Wormwood Scrubs; by DLO in Birmingham &
by Education & Skills staff in Durham
Done in first 48 hrs in W. Scrubs + Bham but
later in Durham
Overall positive ID for LD 7% - see next slide
for exact numbers
Dept of Health trial
Prison
No. Offered
No. refused
ID as +ve for ID
Birmingham
1364 (85% of
new prisoners)
195 (14%)
59 (5%)
Wormwood
Scrubs
1099 (71%)
58 (5%)
89 (8.5%)
Durham
362 (57%)
143 (39%)
21 (9.5%)
What happened next?
Up to each prison what they did when
someone identified with LD
Wormwood Scrubs: the LD nurse called up
their local CLDT & invited them in to meet the
person & do a full assessment
Birmingham: 3rd sector agency Care First
worked in prison (doing activities like crafts)
& followed people up when they left – those
with LD referred to them
Durham: ???
What else would we like to do?
Train prison officers on what this means &
what support the person may need
Ensure support for person on literacy - eg to
fill in forms for visitors, meals, doctor visits etc
Ensure not bullied/harrassed/tricked
Ensure wing officers aware (eg he may be
struggling to understand, not being stroppy)
Provide easy read info
Provide access to work + treatment
Ensure liaison with local services
What happened after the DH 3 mth
trial?
A hold up + Government change + austerity!
Is it still the right thing to do?
If yes, why arent we doing it?
Is it just resources? (who pays for LDSQ
forms? Who conducts the assessments? Who
logs the data? Where? Who follows up?)
Screening is a target for CLDTs & prisons......
Conclusions
We know how to screen for LD
We could negotiate reasonable price with test
company
We know how to liaise with prisons
We have some ideas for what to do after
people are identified
We know its the right thing to do
Lets do it!