Research by the Prison Reform Trust released on 26 September shows that people with a learning disability in prisons in Scotland are not being identified. Many are also bullied, cut out of rehabilitation courses and most prison staff are not given the training or resources to deal with them.

You can download this report here

On 26 September, at the Scottish Parliament, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill, launched the ground breaking survey of professionals in Scottish prisons.

The Prison Reform Trust estimates that 500 prisoners have a learning disability or difficulty that interferes with their ability to cope within the criminal justice system and a further 1,500 will require some additional support. Together this accounts for almost 30% of the prison population in Scotland.

The report acknowledges work underway to address the needs of this sizeable group, which the rest of the UK can learn from. However it also reveals that far more can and must be done to respond to people with learning disabilities and difficulties caught up in the criminal justice system.  

The report’s author, Nancy Loucks said: 

We now know that significant numbers of prisoners are not receiving the support they need to address their offending behaviour, turn away from crime and lead constructive lives. This cannot continue. There are islands of good intentions and good practice within prisons but it is time to conduct a major review of how people with such disabilities and difficulties are treated, to stop prison becoming a double punishment.

Juliet Lyon, Director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

Despite much effort by prison staff in Scotland, at best, work with this group of prisoners is generally ineffective; at worst it's downright cruel to incarcerate people who may find it hard to understand what's going on, who are more likely to be picked on or bullied by other prisoners and who may leave prison less able to cope and more likely to re-offend.

The Prison Reform Trust will submit this report to Henry McLeish who will chair a new independent commission that will study the purpose and impact of imprisonment in contemporary Scotland.  
 
Main findings from the report include:

• 79% of prison staff polled said that it was ‘unlikely’ or likely ‘only a in minority' of cases that people with a learning disability coming into prison would have their condition flagged up. 
   
• Respondents frequently believed that prisoners were bullied and victimized because of their learning difficulty or learning disability. 

Prison staff also identified grave problems for prisoners, with a learning disability, in understanding the court and prison system. The following comments highlight some of the issues raised: 

They have limited understanding of why they are here.

They can’t communicate or retain information easily. 

Many re-offend due to lack of community support and limited resources

Others pointed out that many vital courses to progress sentences were completely unsuitable for people with learning disabilities. This left people with learning difficulties stuck in a maze with no exit and likely to spend longer in prison than others with similar sentences. One respondent said: 

There are prisoners with learning difficulties who really should never be in prison, and perhaps some other option is required to develop.

One of the advisors on the group’s work, who also has a learning disability, and who has first hand experience of the criminal justice system, said:

They should treat you the same as other people. They are rough with you when they think you are thick.

In a foreword to the report, Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service accepts the challenge that the study sets out to identify, while recognising the efforts of many individuals who, in the course of their work, have carried out acts of professionalism and kindness by adjusting and responding to prisoners with learning disabilities and difficulties.

This report has also been welcomed by staff in Scottish prisons. One member of staff recommended that the Scottish Prison Service:

Make changes and implement them within a short period of time because this problem is known and recognised and has been for 20 years.

For further information, please contact, the Prison Reform Trust on 020 7251 5070