The cognitive interview has been developed to help with memory retrieval, specifically in the criminal justice system to address concerns about the unreliability of eye-witness accounts. It can consist of a number of techniques for helping people to recall specific incidents, for example asking the interviewee about general activities and feelings at the time they [read the full story…]
Results from an analysis of the British Crime Survey suggest that 9 out of ten disabled people have been the victims of disability hate crime However, there appears to be still a lack of clarity and understanding as to what constitutes a disability hate crime and under reporting of such crimes. Mencap’s Don’t Stand By [read the full story…]
The 2009 Bradley Review espoused a new approach to dealing with mentally ill offenders and those with learning disabilities to prevent this vulnerable group being caught in the revolving door of the criminal justice system. One of the recommendations was to develop awareness training for criminal justice staff and members of the judiciary to help [read the full story…]
Disability Hate Crime refers to crimes targeted at anybody as a result of his or her disability or impairment, as defined by the Equality Act 2010 and can take many forms, including ate crime can take many forms including: physical attacks, threats of attack or verbal abuse, insults or harassment. The association of Chief Police [read the full story…]
Despite public campaigns to combat stigma around mental illness, people with mental health problems still face ongoing discrimination. And while some sections of the media focus on mental illness in cases of violence, a rise in the number of people who are more of a risk to themselves goes unnoticed. We still find it difficult [read the full story…]
Here at the Mental Elf we are always on the look out for research that extends trials into new areas, and offers practical benefits to people recovering from mental illness. Within psychiatric wards violence and challenging behaviour can be extremely distressing, with a 2007 Healthcare Commission report finding that over half of staff and almost half of [read the full story…]
By Rebecca Syed, King’s College London. A violent attack by someone who is mentally ill quickly grabs the headlines. And it’s usually implied that mental illnesses are a preventable cause of violent crime. Tackle that and we can all sleep safer in our beds. But by pressuring mental health services to focus on the risk [read the full story…]
We have posted previously about people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system and the work of the Prison Reform Trust in this area. Colleagues in the Prison Reform Trust are undertaking some research about provision specifically for women with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system. The researcher is carrying out a comparative [read the full story…]
Over recent years, media and research have highlighted the large number of offenders in prison who have an intellectual or developmental disability. The Prison Reform Trust (2007), estimated this to be 20-30% of all current offenders in prison (although todays numbers may be even higher!), and that this group of individuals are more likely to [read the full story…]
In prisons, suicide is the leading cause of mortality (estimated at 3-5 times the general population). Mental health disorders are known to increase the risk. Generally, suffering from a bipolar disorder increases the risk of attempted or completed suicide when compared to the general population. So it would be expected that prisoners with bipolar disorder [read the full story…]
