Learning Disabled Offenders IN Scottish Prisons

1. Learning Disabled Offenders INScottish Prisons Gary Docherty

2. Numbers • Scotland's prison population is approximately 8000 • The annual cost per prisoner for 2009-10 was £31,703 • The annual cost per prisoner for 2008-09 was £44,447 • The reoffending rate for prisoners who have served less than a 6 month sentence is 73% • The reoffending rate for prisoners who have served a sentence of over 2 years is 43%

3. Learning Disability Statistics • The Prison Reform Trust estimates that at least 7% of all UK prisoners have an IQ of less than 70 • 25% have an IQ of less than 80 • There are 14 learning disabled trained nurses working in Scottish prisons at this time • Not one of these 14 nurses is employed within the Scottish prisons as a learning disability nurse • Conservative estimates are that we have approximately 1000 prisoners who have a learning disability or borderline learning disability

4. Prisons & learning disability • Only 3 of the 17 Scottish prisons have a learning disability service ( Polmont, Greenock & Kilmarnock ) • HMP Barlinnie have over 80 prisoners with a diagnosed learning disability • A further 6 prisons are in the process of initiating a learning disability service (Barlinnie, Corton Vale, Aberdeen, Peterhead, Glenochil and Perth ) , based on the `BLUEPRINT` model • Systems based on the `BLUEPRINT` model are being used in English, Irish, Australian, Norwegian & Canadian prisons • The `BLUEPRINT` system reduced the reoffending rates to 20% • Using the ` BLUEPRINT ` system, considering the current reoffending rates, the Scottish Executive would save £5.8 Million per year if they implemented this system as standard practice

5. WITHIN PRISONS • Prisoners with a learning disability are 5 times more likely to be a subject to C & R procedures • They are 3 times as likely to be placed in a segregation unit as other mainstream prisoners • Every learning disability prisoner in recent research stated he/she had been bullied in some form by other prisoners or staff

6. Legal Issues • In February 2010 a prisoner called Dennis Gill, successfully sued the English prison service using the Disability Discrimination Act ( 2005 ) , after he proved the prison service had not provided appropriate courses and support to address his learning disability & offending behaviour • A number of Scottish prisoners are actively canvassing for other learning disabled offenders to sue the SPS & Scottish Executive • The equality act ( 2010 ) and the previous Disability Discrimination Act ( 2005 ) requirements are not being adhered to in Scottish prisons

7. Publications • ` The Same As You ` publication, made a recommendation ( number 28 ) for more research and identification of people with learning disability in prisons • ` No One Knows ` ( 2007 ) by Nancy Loucks & Jenny Talbot. Offers comprehensive research into learning disability offenders in Scottish prisons • ` On the Borderline ` ( 2004 ) by Fiona Myers was the most specific research but was limited • England & Wales have recently been acting upon ` The Bradley Report `

8. Future provisions • The transition of SPS healthcare to NHS healthcare should improve access to information on prisoners with a learning disability • Specialist learning disability nurses need time & resources to provide appropriate support to learning disability offenders in prison • Greater emphasis & efforts should be employed to promote more ` EASY-READ ` forms & paperwork in the prisons • All prison staff should have learning disability awareness training