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PEOPLE WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY IN PRISON

Dr Fergus Douds, Associate Medical Director, The State Hospital & Clinical Lead – Learning Disabilities, Forensic Network

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• The Prison Reform Trust (“No-one Knows” report) estimated that up to 7% of all UK

prisoners have an IQ of less than 70 and 25% have an IQ less than 80

• Scotland’s prison population is approximately 8500

• Population prevalence for ID is 2-3%

• If 2% of prison population had ID that would amount to 170 prisoners in Scotland –

small numbers BUT:

• Prisoners with intellectual disability are 5 times more likely to be subjected to C&R

procedures

• They are 3 times as likely to be placed in a segregation unit as other mainstream

prisoners

• EVERY intellectually disabled prisoner in recent research stated he/she had been

bullied in some form by other prisoners or staff

• Absence of modified treatment programmes in prison

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• The annual cost per prisoner for 2009-10 was £31,703

• There are 15 Scottish prisons, of which 9 have learning disability

nurses working to identify and support ID offenders in the prison

• Parliamentary questions were asked last November of Kenny

MacAskill regarding the provision of services for prisoners with an

intellectual disability

• Very important legal case in England 2010: Claimant vs Secretary of

State for Justice (case number CO/10088/2009)

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• National Prisoner Healthcare Network (NPHN)

• Intellectual Disability clearly part of remit

• ASPIRATION: “The aim is to create an equitable health

and ID service where the provision of care for prisoners

is the same as the care for those patients in the

community”

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Moving Forward

• Better and more formal liaison between Prison Mental Health staff

(including visiting forensic psychiatrist) and community/forensic ID

services

• Prison ID Directory

• Sharing of resources/training, especially with regard to therapeutic

trteatments (anger, social problem solving, sex offender etc)

• Role of Forensic Network and other organisations, e.g. ARC in

promoting best practice