Discrimination Against Prisoners with Learning Disabilities - Essay Example

Discrimination against Prisoners with Learning Disabilities Introduction Discrimination of prisoners with learning disability in the criminal justice system of the United Kingdom and other countries across the globe has become a serious issue in the recent decade. The term ‘dual discrimination’ has been introduced by Bartlett (2004) to describe the form of discrimination that takes place when a person both has a history of criminal behaviour and learning disability. This essay critically evaluates the extent to which prisoners with learning disabilities are discriminated against in the criminal justice system. It is important to examine this issue due to the lack of conclusive findings about the extent of discrimination experienced by prisoners with learning disabilities, particularly within prison systems in the UK. Determining the extent of this discrimination will help prison staff, mental health professionals, and policymakers formulate programmes aimed at preventing discrimination and victimisation within the criminal justice system. There are several procedures and requirements within the criminal justice system which demand a great deal of communication abilities, for instance being interviewed, giving a testimony, advising, and reading of rights. Dealing with offenders with learning disabilities creates management problems within the criminal justice system. For instance, how can individuals with learning disabilities be recognised and handled after detainment; are they capable of answering questions during interviews; will their testimonies be accepted by courts? There is mounting evidence that a large number of offenders arrested by law enforcers have learning disabilities. The Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) believes that offenders with learning disabilities are likely to give confusing or false statements and require special assistance. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence to prove that offenders with learning disabilities are usually not recognised by the police and discriminated against within the criminal justice system. Overview of the Problem An inexplicably huge population of prisoners has mental disabilities; the World Health Organisation (WHO) reports that a large number of prisoners in Europe have some kind of mental disorder, specifically learning disability. A current study conducted in New South Wales, Australia reported that 80% of the total prisoner population have a mental disorder. In the United States, more than half of the prisoner population are under medication for psychotic problems and major depression. Studies in the United Kingdom have reported a comparable situation. As reported by a current Prison Reform Trust study, prisoners with learning disabilities experience discrimination and other human rights violence. Among people with mental disorders those with learning disorders are still among the most discriminated and mistreated members of the society. According to the United Nations Special Rapporteur, “... [t]heir neglect is reflected in society at large, among the health professionals, and in the human rights community” (Rosenberg & Rosenberg, 2012, p. 105). This discrimination and neglect are even more severe in the prison environment in numerous countries. Current studies in several countries have revealed the huge population of prisoners suffering from learning disabilities and the severely insufficient attention given to their mental health care needs. Some individuals with learning disabilities are at risk of criminal behaviour and are, thus, predisposed to have dealings with the criminal justice system. People with borderline and mild learning disorders make up the bulk of the total population of those with learning disabilities. According to the 2001 report of the Department of Health (DoH), roughly 1.2 million individuals in the UK have a mild to moderate learning disability. Estimations from the data of prison population show that daily roughly 5,000 individuals with learning disabilities are incarcerated together with an additional 19,500 individuals with probable mild to moderate learning disabilities (Broussine & Scarborough, 2012, p. 182). Several studies have been carried out which emphasise service insufficiencies, present proposals, and lay out guidelines for the assessment, treatment, and care of prisoners with learning disabilities. Numerous organisations collaborate to provide criminal justice, such as the National Offender Management Service, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), and the law enforcement. The objective of the criminal justice system (CJS) is to mete out justice by identifying criminal activities and punishing offenders and rehabilitating them. Moreover, it is tasked to perform the mandates of the court (Broussine & Scarborough, 2012, p. 182). Approximately 30 percent of prisoners are believed to have learning disabilities that impede their capacity to deal with the requirements, pressures, and bureaucracies of the criminal justice system. Hayes and colleagues (2007 as cited in Broussine & Scarborough, 2012, pp. 182-183) discovered roughly seven percent of inmates in a large penal complex in the UK had low IQ, suggesting learning disabilities. Hence, even though accurate figures are difficult to determine, it is apparent that a large population of prisoners are suffering from learning disabilities and until of late their mental health care needs had not been completely addressed within the criminal justice system. The discrimination experienced by individuals with learning disabilities from the mainstream population is intensified within the prison environment. Some inmates are usually reluctant to interact with prisoners with learning disabilities, because of the same stereotypes and false impressions the general public have about them. This can result in the seclusion of these prisoners, resulting in an increased worsening of their intellectual capacity. Similar perceptions are usually held by prison personnel, preventing a beneficial and helpful relationship to be built between prisoners with learning disabilities and prison personnel, hence reinforcing personnel’s false perception of the condition of these inmates. It is also probable that mental health providers may discriminate against prisoners with learning disabilities because they may be viewed to be too taxing, more disorderly, or because they may be incapable of effectively communicating or expressing their needs and issues. The right to health of prisoners is a basic human right acknowledged by several international organisations. According to the right of health prisoners have the right to be placed in an environment which does not cause or worsen mental disorders. Sadly most prisons across the globe do not create an environment which strengthens and improves the mental and physical health of its occupants. In numerous countries, including the UK, prisoners are housed in congested and dirty jails, in an environment that is filled with the actual or believed threat of discrimination and maltreatment. These situations increase anxiety, depression, and trauma, which could result in more severe intellectual difficulties, if proper measures are not carried out. Prisoners with learning disabilities are more vulnerable to serious mental disorder. They have smaller amount of resources with which to deal with situations characterised by abuse, violence, and discrimination. At times suicidal and manic-depressive, they are more vulnerable to emotional decline, with a high possibility of hurting themselves, hurting other people, or being gravely hurt by others. At times prisoners with learning disabilities will be accommodated separately, in tremendously poor environments with lesser access to health services, sanitation, and proper nutrition. In some prison systems in the UK prisoners with intellectual disabilities are physically subdued. Studies show that female prisoners with learning disabilities are especially vulnerable to self-harm, maltreatment, and weakening mental health in prisons. Equal access and quality of health care is a rule that includes all inmates. Nevertheless, this right is seldom acquired in prisons, where generally the provision of mental health care services is quite insufficient. Mental health services in prisons seriously lack human and material/physical resources and often depend entirely on medications to control the disruptive aspects of learning disabilities, instead of providing the form of assessment and treatment which is needed. Besides the rule of equality, the serious prevalence of learning disabilities within UK prisons and other countries should require the delivery of improved mental health care services, but, apparently, majority of prisons across the globe fail to provide sufficient assessment and care for learning disabilities. Appropriate assessment and care of learning disabilities is the major component of effective treatment. However, preliminary assessment and development of individual care plans in the UK are either absent or insufficient. As a result, prisoners with learning disabilities are not diagnosed and cared for in a surrounding that is highly detrimental to their mental health. When inmates with learning disabilities are relocated any needed treatment may be terminated until a new assessment is carried out, and the interval may worsen the condition of prisoners with learning disabilities. Successful mental health care services, creating individual treatment plans, necessitate the specialised knowledge of an array of mental health practitioners, such as therapists, counsellors, and psychiatrists. In actual fact, professional employees working in prisons are subjected to distasteful working conditions and receive poor compensations. Hence, many prisons in the UK do not have a sufficient number of mental health professionals. This shortage is often aggravated by barriers to mental health care access, such as the requirement to submit a written request for consultation. Prisoners with learning disabilities may be unable to accomplish such requirements. Some prisoners with learning disabilities require specific health care treatments, like cognitive-behavioural therapy and physiotherapy. Researchers have reported that individuals with learning disabilities experience a greater occurrence of psychiatric and psychosocial disorders and they will hence require better access to appropriate care. Besides these health care factors which increase the discrimination experienced by prisoners with learning disabilities within the UK criminal justice system, they are also discriminated in terms of access to justice. They may be discriminated and abused by the police and health care practitioners, may experience stigmatisation, and may not be adequately knowledgeable of their legal rights. Because intellectual disabilities are widespread among the members of the lower class, because of the financial difficulties they confront in acquiring appropriate care, as well as fundamental aspects of mental wellbeing, like sanitation and proper nutrition, suspects with learning disabilities are likely to require pro bono legal assistance, which may not be provided. Without proper legal aid, these suspects may be forced to plead guilty to a crime much more easily than other suspects, because of their intellectual disability. They may plead guilty to an offence even though they are not culpable in any way. Several studies have reported that a large number of defendants with learning disabilities confess to a crime more willingly and are more frequently convicted. Individuals with learning disabilities are vulnerable to human rights abuses in prisons. Prisoners with learning disabilities are at risk of violence, sexual abuse, and maltreatment by other prisoners. They may be forced by prison personnel into working as informants or coerced by other prisoners into carrying out activities that are dangerous to them, and may have problems understanding prison rules. Prisoners with learning disabilities usually become sexual assault victims in prison systems. Female prisoners are especially at risk. Individuals with learning disabilities are especially at risk of numerous human rights violations. Prisoners with learning disabilities may experience serious difficulty in understand and following prison policies. Some may display disorderly and aggressive behavioural patterns. Others will plainly decline to comply with regular rules, without any obvious, valid reasons. Failure to comply with disciplinary policies in prisons implies punishment, usually in isolation chambers. Thus, prisoners with learning disabilities, who violate the policies, will repeatedly be punished, which is severely detrimental to their mental health, at times resulting in extreme depression, suicide, and self-harm. As has been the practice in many prison systems in the UK, the most effective way of handling prisoners with intellectual disabilities who are observed to be troublesome or who violate policies, is to physically punish, discipline, or subdue them for long durations. Many disciplinary violations result in the accrual of misconduct accounts, which have an unfavourable effect on the chances for early release of prisoners with intellectual disabilities. Actual Discrimination Experienced by Prisoners with Learning Disabilities within the Criminal Justice System It is approximated that millions of individuals in the United Kingdom suffer from mild to moderate intellectual disability. In most cases, individuals with intellectual disabilities are more at risk of coronary heart disease, obesity, depression, anxiety, diabetes, and hypertension. The Scottish Prison Service has overlooked these serious issues up to now and efforts focusing on addressing the mental health care needs of prisoners with learning disabilities are currently in progress. These efforts are initiated to reduce or totally eliminate incidences of discrimination against prisoners with learning disabilities. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) obliges the National Offender Management Service to support and actualise disability equality and prevent incidents of discrimination against prisoners with intellectual disabilities. This may require initiating appropriate changes to eliminate obstacles to access to necessary services. In addition, it requires issuing a Disability Equality Scheme and evaluating the effect of procedures and measures on individuals with learning disabilities. In the Valuing People White Paper of DoH, a learning disability is characterised by (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, 2009, p. 19): a significantly reduced ability to understand complex information or learn new skills (impaired intelligence) a reduced ability to cope independently (impaired social functioning) a condition which started before adulthood (18 years of age), and has a lasting effect. Unfortunately, the Valuing People White Paper only mentions one clause on individuals with learning disabilities, which basically declares (HM Inspectorate of Prisons, 2009, pp. 19-20): Prisoners with learning disabilities present a wide range of issues. The Prison Service seeks to identify their individual needs for education and health care within the framework of addressing their sentence requirements. Prison establishments have to balance the resources needed to deliver this level of care with the many other demands of prisoner management. This single clause is apparently not sufficient to guarantee a discrimination-free prison environment for inmates with learning disabilities. For instance, the recent Nottinghamshire study discovered that discrimination against prisoners with learning disabilities is partly caused by the lack of appropriate training and assistance for prison personnel in identifying the needs of prisoners with learning disabilities. A number of prison personnel expressed their grievances about their inability to properly identify the needs of prisoners with learning disabilities; they were discouraged by the lack of support, training, and assistance. A number of papers in the UK substantiate the immediate need for improved healthcare services in many prison systems in order to reduce the discrimination experienced by prisoners with learning disabilities. Some of these major papers are Positive Practice Positive Outcomes, Health and Nursing Care in the Criminal Justice System, and Valuing People Now. Several studies revealed the severe outcomes that can emerge if equal access to healthcare and expert assistance is not offered to individuals with intellectual disabilities. In order to realise these objectives, new functions are being created with the purpose of helping individuals with learning disabilities access appropriate and needed healthcare services. The thematic report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons in 2009 reported several specific cases of discrimination against prisoners with learning disabilities. Special units for prisoners with intellectual disabilities were built in several prison systems, even though a current accommodation survey by the Prison Service publicised that some of these were built in health facilities. Inmates who admitted that they had learning disabilities said they were not allowed to use showers, and disability liaison officers (DLOs) thought that the stability and structure of penal complexes hampered adjustments for inmates with learning disabilities. The structure of several penal complexes implied that prisoners with acute learning disabilities were not admitted. Even though official evacuation procedures must have been exercised for inmates who needed emergency aid, inspection results brought in issues about personnel knowledge and implementation of these procedures in a number of prison systems. Prisoners with intellectual disabilities were more likely to experience discrimination from prison personnel. DLOs at several prison systems reported that there had been disability awareness training, even though it differed in effectiveness. A large number of prisoners with learning disabilities experienced difficulty in acquiring a complaint or application request. Even though many reported that they had submitted a complaint form, many also said that they had been advised to discontinue a complaint. Fifty percent of prisoners with learning disabilities reported that they did not feel safe in their detention units. Prisoners with learning disabilities revealed greater risks of bullying, victimisation, and discrimination both from their fellow prisoners and prison personnel. In spite of this, tracking or identification by prison systems of possible discrimination or victimisation of inmates with learning disabilities was uncommon. Every DLO said that their penal complex had a disability rule. However, only a few of these prison systems were rooted in a recent needs evaluation. Even though many DLOs reported that disability was a regular issue at discussions, only a few reported that they had spokespeople for prisoners with intellectual disabilities. The HM inspectorate discovered that identification or assessment of prisoners with learning disabilities was inadequate or absent. Where assessment was carried out, it usually has to be extended to cover access to complaints, programmes, and possible intimidation, victimisation, or discrimination. Several DLOs said they felt that they have less opportunities and time to accomplish their duty, with a large number of them revealing insufficient support and training, and underfunding. These problems influence the quality of their services and their performance. To a certain extent, some felt capable of addressing the demands and requirements of prisoners with learning disabilities. However, impediments to this involved the stability and structure of jails, absence of support, and preliminary assessment. In many prison systems, treatment or care programmes were not regularly accomplished for inmates classified by the DLOs as suffering from learning disabilities. These programmes are needed to determine any further assistance prisoners with learning disabilities may need, and to guarantee that information is disseminated to key personnel. So what should be done in order to eliminate incidents of discrimination against prisoners with learning disabilities? First of all, prison personnel may require appropriate assistance, training, and funding for prisoners who have learning disabilities. Likewise, it is probable that prisoners with learning disabilities are incapable of benefitting from alternative medications or treatments because these approaches are normally verbally performed. An individual who has learning disabilities may throw tantrums or apply other actions or behavioural patterns to express their disappointment. Several studies in the UK conclusively summarise inadequacies in the criminal justice system and the repercussions of these for prisoners with intellectual disabilities. There are possible unfavourable outcomes within disability discrimination policies if this state of affair persists. Without proper aid and support, prisoners with learning disabilities may be at risk of continuous victimisation or offending, maltreatment, and discrimination. The Nottinghamshire study discovered that a large number of offenders are imprisoned in poor mental health due to barriers to access to appropriate mental health services. The study reported that this worsened by vulnerability to health disorders developed as a result of living in poor prison environments. The Nottinghamshire program examined the possibility of creating a service to help prisoners with learning disabilities. Throughout the program it was apparent that, even though there is an obvious necessity for support services for prisoners with learning disabilities, there has been inadequate attention paid to how these may be implemented. The emphasis seems to be on substance abuse, primary care, and mental health. It is important that experienced, knowledgeable, and qualified learning disability practitioners provide these services. Not every prisoner with intellectual disabilities has problems with physical or mental wellbeing, but they may need assistance to sustain best possible health. Delivering proper treatment or care, administered by expert personnel, will reduce the possibility of committing further offences and help inmates get involved in care programmes. These measures will definitely have a favourable impact on human rights, equality, and the prisoner’s mental and physical wellbeing. Conclusions Apparently, learning disabilities with regard to criminal justice, victimisation, offending, and discrimination bring in serious concerns. As revealed in the discussion, many studies and official government reports in the UK support the assumption that prisoners with learning disabilities experience discrimination within the criminal justice system. This discrimination ranges from lack of access to justice to lack of access to appropriate mental health services upon imprisonment. Discrimination against prisoners with learning disabilities is conclusively a serious issue in the UK. Increased awareness and knowledge among criminal justice organisations and legislators of issues like problems faced by prisoners with learning disabilities, the prevalence of prisoners displaying other mental difficulties, and the discrimination experienced by these prisoners is paving the way to further studies in these domains. Ultimately, the involvement of prisoners with learning disabilities and the professionals who help them will be valuable in the development of appropriate and effective measures against discrimination. 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