Contributors
Professor Susan Hayes
"I commend the Queensland Criminal Justice Centre (QCJC) for developing this website which provides relevant and important information for the legal profession and other professions assisting people with intellectual disabilities and/or mental illnesses who come into contact with the criminal justice system. The ability to access up-to-date and practical information and resources is paramount is assisting this group. The website is a sign"ificant recognition of the over-representation of such individuals in the criminal justice system, which is a reflection of their vulnerability. I am pleased to assist QCJC by providing some of the materials which I have developed over time and wish them well in their endeavours."
People with intellectual disability who come into contact with the legal system; greater understanding; rights for this group; better services.
Susan Hayes is Head of the discipline of Behavioural Sciences in Medicine in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Sydney, holds a doctorate in psychology and is a registered psychologist with an established forensic psychology practice, working with offenders and victims who have an intellectual disability.
Over more than 20 years Susan Hayes has conducted a sustained program of research in intellectual disability (ID), focussed upon the rights of people with ID, especially those who come into contact with the criminal justice system as victims or offenders. She was amongst the first researchers in Australia and internationally to engage in this area of research. Her research has followed a logical path, first investigating the prevalence of ID in prisons and magistrates courts, followed by the development of the Hayes Ability Screening Index (HASI) to assist in the identification of people with ID within the criminal justice system. The HASI is used in research and clinical work in the UK and has been translated into (Canadian) French and Norwegian and is currently being translated into Dutch. Susan has made a significant international contribution to this field through her ability to identify and solve problems, using research to benefit people with ID and their service providers and carers. In 1998 Susan Hayes was awarded the Order of Australia (AO) for services to the community, particularly through research on criminality in the young and the problems faced by people with developmental disabilities in the criminal justice system. Since 2002 she has been awarded four competitive grants, and two commissioned grants for research, one of the latter being awarded in Queensland and the other by the NHS in the UK. Susan has been granted the title of Fellow of the International Association for the Scientific Study of Intellectual Disability and was a recipient of the UNSW Alumni Award for Achievement, as well as being appointed Benjamin Meaker Visiting Professor to the Norah Fry Research Centre (NFRC) at the University of Bristol (UOB).
Contributor's Documents
Cognitive behavioural therapy for people with ID who are victims of crime
The paper examines the research evidence on the use and effectiveness of CBT with people with ID who are victims of crime. There is not a large body of research on the use of CBT with people with ID, and the research that has been conducted within the criminal justice area tends to focus primarily upon accused persons and offenders, rather than victims of crime. There is a dearth of research about the effectiveness of CBT with victims of crime, who may suffer from a number of psychiatric and psychological disorders including anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, as well as behavioural difficulties. There are few practitioners who are expert in the dual fields of CBT and victims of crime with ID, and hence it is difficult for service users and their carers to access this form of intervention. In turn, the small number of clinicians working in this field means that few research studies are conducted; when research is conducted, the sample sizes tend to be small and unrepresentative.
Early Incarceration
Preventing people with an intellectual disability from becoming involved in the criminal justice system requires early identification of problem behaviours and other risk factors, and availability of programs and resources to address these. The risk factors may be noticed at pre-school, school, home and work, during regular health check ups, or during social and recreational activities.
Identifying intellectual disability in offender populations
People with intellectual disabilities in the criminal justice system
Victims - Police and Judicial responses
People with intellectual disabilities are frequently the victims of crimes. Research shows that men and women with an intellectual disability (ID) are twice as likely to be the victim of crime directed against them personally, and one and a half times more likely to suffer property crimes than non-disabled age-matched cohorts (Wilson and Brewer, 1992). In particular, women with ID are at high risk of being sexually assaulted, with some research indicating that the majority will have been sexually exploited by the time they reach adulthood (Keilty and Connelly, 2000). Apart from abuse by strangers, people with ID may also be victimised by family members (Balogh et al, 2001), or in group homes or other residential situations; in the latter situations, the abusers are likely to be recently employed male staff members, with a prior history of being the perpetrator of abuse.
