Guest editorial

Citation

Skellern, J. (2016), "Guest editorial", Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, Vol. 7 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/JIDOB-01-2016-0002

Guest editorial

Article Type: Guest editorial From: Journal of Intellectual Disabilities and Offending Behaviour, Volume 7, Issue 2.

In July 2014 I had the honour and pleasure of hosting the second conference on Intellectual Disabilities and Criminal Justice at the University of Chester. The conference brought together service-users and professionals, from a wide range of agencies, organisations and disciplines, interested in the health, safety and well-being of people with intellectual disabilities who come into contact with the criminal justice system as either victims or perpetrators of criminal activity. The Rt Hon Lord Bradley opened the conference with a stimulating oral presentation discussing the progress made towards achieving the vision set out in the Bradley report (Department of Health, 2009), which was for the needs of people with mental health problems and learning disabilities, who come into contact with the criminal justice system, are more effectively and humanely met. Some of the changes which have occurred since the publication of the report have been discussed in detail by Durcan et al. (2014) in the Bradley report five years on, however whilst it is clear that significant improvements have been made, it is evident much more still needs to be done.

Within the original report, Lord Bradley raised the issue of people, agencies and organisations working independently from each other within their own professional silos, and partnership working amongst professionals, agencies and organisations was a key theme within the 82 recommendations. A flexible, co-ordinated, multi-agency and multi-professional approach was highlighted as critical if the needs of people with mental health problems and learning disabilities, who are at risk of offending or who come into contact with the criminal justice system, are to be met effectively.

It should be noted that the terms learning disability and intellectual disability are used interchangeably within this special edition. Learning disability is the term currently utilised within UK policy and practice whilst intellectual disability is becoming increasingly used in the wider, international, professional context. Both terms are used in line with the definition provided by the Department of Health (2001, p. 14): "a significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills, with a reduced ability to cope independently which started before adulthood, with a lasting effect on development"; the definition also used by Lord Bradley in his report. However, whilst people with intellectual disabilities experience some shared core difficulties, the manner in which they are affected by the diagnosis and any associated conditions, is as unique as they are and the support needs of each individual vary considerably. Therefore, given the range and variation in the needs of people with intellectual disabilities, it is unsurprising that no one professional, agency or organisation has the capability or capacity to meet the holistic needs of each individual who comes into contact with the criminal justice system; this requires partnership working.

Partnership working in its various guises has been discussed, within criminal justice and health and social care policies, since the 1960s (Williams and Sullivan, 2007; Berry et al., 2011). Many authors have examined in detail what constitutes effective partnership working, and although not without debate, the fundamental necessities are generally identified as:

• a shared sense of purpose, aim or goal;

• mutual trust and respect; and

• ownership and commitment by all the parties involved.

Throughout the discussion of partnership working within the Bradley report (Department of Health, 2009), there was great emphasis on the contribution many services could make to improve the support available to people with mental health problems and learning disabilities throughout the offender pathway. However, learning disability nurses were not specifically discussed and were noticeable by their absence. Clearly the first step of partnership working should be recognition, acknowledgement and understanding of the role of all possible parties who could be involved. This special edition attempts to go some way to address this, highlighting some of the ways learning disability nurses are currently involved and contribute to supporting people with intellectual disabilities who come into contact with the criminal justice system.

Joanne Skellern - Senior Lecturer at the Department of Mental Health and Learning Disability, University of Chester, Warrington, UK

References

Berry, G., Briggs, P., Erol, R. and van Staden, L. (2011), "The effectiveness of partnership working in a crime and disorder context: a rapid evidence assessment", Research Report No. 52, Home Office, London

Department of Health (2001), Valuing People: A New Strategy for Learning Disability for the 21st Century, Department of Health, London

Department of Health (2009), "The Bradley report: Lord Bradley’s review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the Criminal Justice System", Department of Health, London

Durcan, G., Saunders, A., Gadsby, B. and Hazard, A. (2014), "The Bradley report five years on", Centre for Mental Health, London

Loucks, N. (2007), "No one knows: the prevalence and associated needs of offenders with learning difficulties and learning disabilities, Prison Reform Trust, London

Williams, P. and Sullivan, H. (2007), "Working in collaboration: learning from theory and practice, literature review for the national leadership and innovation agency for health care, Design 4 Partnership, Cymru