A justice system failing the autistic community
| Date | 01 January 2013 |
| Published date | 01 January 2013 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JIDOB-02-2013-0003 |
| Pages | 53-59 |
| Author | Nigel Archer,Elisabeth Ann Hurley |
| Subject Matter | Education,Health & social care,Sociology |
A justice system failing the autistic
community
Nigel Archer and Elisabeth Ann Hurley
Nigel Archer is the Criminal
Justice Development
Coordinator at Autism West
Midlands, Birmingham, UK.
Elisabeth Ann Hurley is a
Research Officer at Autism
West Midlands,
Birmingham, UK.
Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer a personal perspective and highlight perceived
shortcomings in the criminal justice system (CJS) when people with autism come into contact with it; and
provide ideas for improvement.
Design/methodology/approach – The first author’s work as the Criminal Justice Sector Development
Coordinator at Autism West Midlands has given him first-hand experience in all aspects of the CJS as it
relates to autism. The paper highlights the reasons why raising autism awareness is crucial in the CJS and
provides a current overview of the present position.
Findings – There is a need for increased awareness of autism in the CJS. Too often people with autism
enter the system because of misunderstandings about their condition. Although a few police forces have
undertaken autism awareness training, there is a need for further training for the remainder and for the other
organisations that make up the wider CJS. Additionally, there are simple and cost-effective changes or
services that could be implemented now, both by the CJS and local authorities, to address the issues but
which are not being implemented due to a lack of clear policy and direction from government.
Originality/value – This paper gives a unique perspective on the needs of people with autism when they
encounter the CJS. It highlights the lack of information on how many people with autism encounter the CJS.
Furthermore, it explains the impact that lack of autism awareness in the CJS can have on a person
with autism.
Keywords United Kingdom, Intellectual disabilities, Offending behaviour, Criminal justice system, Police,
Theory of mind, Autism spectrum disorder, Adjustments, Asperger syndrome
Paper type Viewpoint
Introduction
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a group of developmental disorders which affect a
person’s ability to make sense of the world. People with ASD may have trouble with social
communication and interaction, may have restricted repetitive behaviours and may have
sensory difficulties (Levy et al., 2009). Among many other issues that people with autism may
have, one which is particularly relevant to this report is impaired theory of mind. Theory of mind
is the ability to understand one’sown mental state (such as beliefs, desires, etc.) and that others
may have a different mental state to them (Korkmaz, 2011). Problems with theory of mind
can be one of the reasons that people with autism end up being involved in the Criminal Justice
System (CJS).
Research into the prevalence and issues relating to ASD in the CJS to date has been extremely
limited and small in scale predominantly due to the lack of availability of reliable data. A major
factor being that the CJS, just like the remainder of the public sector, have never been required
to record ASD as a distinct category when completing records of individuals or incidents. Whilst
records and ITsystems such as the Police National Computer, for example, may havemarkers
for “mental health”, “learning disability”, race, ethnicity or religion, ASD is not among them.
Thus simply identifying how many people with an ASD actually interact with the CJS, in what
DOI 10.1108/JIDOB-02-2013-0003 VOL. 4 NO. 1/2 2013, pp. 53-59, CEmerald Group Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8824
j
JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES AND OFFENDING BEHAVIOUR
j
PAGE 53
To continue reading
Request your trial