with learning disabilities, and she was brilliant, I couldn’t spoke to me in an accessible way, she fault her… She explained things quite clearly, and she was clearly supportive of (Individual/Supporter). me.” Some professionals are very aware of learning disabilities, and are proficient at facilitating accused/convicted persons to fully engage in the process. This included police officers, Appropriate Adults, solicitors, and criminal justice social workers: was lucky because, apart from the police questioning, X “I [support worker has been there all the made way…and it’s such a difference. Someone that you can relate to, but the also the same person because you establish that (Individual/Supporter). relationship.” do still get support from the a sergeant “I police. There’s that knows me and will support me. If I speak to him and an ongoing incident or say to stay there’s something he’ll away from this area because of it, trying to help me avoid trouble.” (Individual/Supporter) Developing training and understanding Most criminal justice agencies have an awareness of the issues and challenges faced by accused/convicted persons with learning disabilities in the system and have a genuine interest in trying to address these. Some agencies have begun to provide dedicated training, either internally or with other public and/or third sector partners, and others have started to revise and update existing training to take account of learning disability issues. While these are positive steps, this training and screening tools have yet to be developed or delivered in a consistent and widespread way: a national conversation needed here about how “There’s this is done and when done, including the police, it’s including the court service, including the prisons, and the Scottish Government to look at a joined up strategy.” (Criminal Justice Agency/Professional).
with learning disabilities, and she was brilliant, I couldn’t fault her… She spoke to me in an accessible way, she explained things quite clearly, and she was clearly supportive of me.” (Individual/Supporter). Some professionals are very aware of learning disabilities, and are proficient at facilitating accused/convicted persons to fully engage in the process. This included police officers, Appropriate Adults, solicitors, and criminal justice social workers: “I was lucky because, apart from the police questioning, X [support worker has been there all the way…and it’s made such a difference. Someone that you can relate to, but the also the same person because you establish that relationship.” (Individual/Supporter). “I do still get support from the police. There’s a sergeant that knows me and will support me. If I speak to him and there’s an ongoing incident or something he’ll say to stay away from this area because of it, trying to help me avoid trouble.” (Individual/Supporter) Developing training and understanding Most criminal justice agencies have an awareness of the issues and challenges faced by accused/convicted persons with learning disabilities in the system and have a genuine interest in trying to address these. Some agencies have begun to provide dedicated training, either internally or with other public and/or third sector partners, and others have started to revise and update existing training to take account of learning disability issues. While these are positive steps, this training and screening tools have yet to be developed or delivered in a consistent and widespread way: “There’s a national conversation needed here about how this is done and when it’s done, including the police, including the court service, including the prisons, and the Scottish Government to look at a joined up strategy.” (Criminal Justice Agency/Professional).