Support Needs of People with LD who offend: A Focus Group Exploration
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Support Needs of People with Learning Disabilities who offend: A Focus Group Exploration.
IRAS ID
148225
Contact name
Kelly Rayner
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS trust
Research summary
People with learning disabilities will usually need extra support in many areas of their life, but in the context of the criminal justice system there is not much support provided. It is only recently that the prevalence of people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system has been brought to light, through, for example, The Bradley Report (Department of Health, 2009), and little has been done to investigate the support needs of these people. While some may be relatively competent, and have strong support from families or workers, other may have to fend for themselves with limited cognitive and adaptive skills. There may be need for more support to be put into practice, for example a professional whose role it is to provide support to people with learning disabilities from the arrest stage onwards. This project looks at participants’ perceptions and experiences of all stages of the criminal justice system from arrest, to judgement, to sentence served, to release. The study is being conducted through the Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys (TEWV) NHS trust Research team, led by Dr. Kelly Rayner. The participants will be recruited from units within the TEWV NHS trust. Through focus groups, these stages will be discussed with reference to the issues specific to learning disabilities and the supports that were provided and lacking for these individuals, and who was providing the support. Focus group transcripts will then be analysed to elucidate themes of support needs in this population. Conclusions will be drawn about what support is needed in these contexts. Participants will participate in a focus group lasting approximately 1 hour, with a small group of their peers, on issues of interest to them. The focus will be on the participants support needs throughout their pathway in the criminal justice system.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/YH/0043
Date of REC Opinion
1 Apr 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion