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`Not Naughty, Stupid, or Bad’ - The Voices of Neurodiverse Service Users in the Criminal Justice System
December 2023
This excellent report makes a number of recommendations, most of which are reproduced below:
Where possible, prisons should provide single cells for those neurodivergent individuals who benefit from them.
More one-to-one learning opportunities should be provided for neurodivergent individuals in prison who are not able to learn in group settings.
More physical activities (i.e. gym and other sports) should be provided for neurodivergent individuals in prison who identify the need for exercise to stay calm, to sleep, and to burn energy to avoid being agitated.
Prisons should organise more peer support activities (group sessions, listeners, champions) for neurodiverse service users.
The NHS and HMPPS should commission the coproduction of accessible and engaging self-learning resources for neurodivergent service users in prisons and the wider justice sector.
Prisons should employ more NHS staff (including clinical psychologists) with qualifications and lived experience of neurodiversity.
Health care induction in prisons should include more thorough and consistent assessments / screening / diagnosis for neurodiversity. The induction should also be provided for those in remand.
The probation and police services should introduce staff training with a particular focus on consistency, flexibility and service users’ different literacy and digital literacy levels.
Courts should offer better assessment for neurodiversity, and fully take into consideration service users neurodiversity diagnoses when sentencing.
HMPPS and the NHS should consider employing individuals with lived experience of neurodiversity for roles that include interacting with neurodivergent service users.
