Screening for learning
disabilities in prisons
Glynis Murphy, Tizard Centre, Kent Univ
g.h.murphy@kent.ac.uk
Offenders with LD: prevalence
 Interpret data with care!
 Samples vary, methods vary!
 Eugenics era: assumed to be very high rates
but little good data (eg assessed only those
referred with problems; used incorrect norms)
 In USA: early studies showed 10% of prisoners
have ID; recent studies: 3% & less
 In Australia: often get figures around 10% or
more; higher in Aboriginal populations; affected
by ethnicity? + lack of diversion possibilities?
Offenders & ID: prevalence
 In UK: studies in 1990s
- police station: 5-9% acc to Gudjonsson et al
- probation: 6% acc to Mason & Murphy 2002
- prison: <1% - Harnett, Holland & Murphy, ‘95
 More recent UK studies suggested 7% of
prisoners have learning disabilities – e.g.
Mottram et al study in NW prisons – but
methodology criticised
 Do exact numbers matter?
What prisons currently do
 In the No One Knows Programme, Jenny
Talbot (Prison Reform Trust) asked prisons
whether they screen people for learning
disabilities or difficulties
 No routine screening going on at time (2008)
 Clear from rest of ‘No One Knows’ that
prisoners with LD were very disadvantaged in
terms of: accessing visitors, doctor appointments, ordering meals, accessing work
training, + accessing treatment programmes.
Bradley report
 Amongst other recommendations, asserted
that prisons should screen for LD
 Clearly best to screen at entry to CJS – i.e. at
police station – that is still (my) long term aim
 Meanwhile let us try screening in prison!
 Common objection: but what can we do if we
find we have got prisoners with LD?
 Our answer: all sorts of things! - AND if you
don’t know who has LD, how can you help
them at all?
How can we screen?
Common tools & requirements
 WAIS-IV - gold standard IQ test; takes
45mins-1hr; done by psychologists only
 WASI - short form IQ test; takes 20 mins;
done by psychologists & a few others
 HASI – much like the WASI; validated in CJS;
can train few others to do; over-estimates IQ
 LIPS – takes 15 mins; vocab & clock drawing;
can train others to do it; validated in CJS
 LDSQ – 10 mins max; very easy to train
others; validated in community
Dept of Health trial in 2010/11
 None of tests ideal (adaptive behaviour issue)
 BUT: Used LDSQ to screen all new entrants
to 3 prisons in a 3 mth trial
 Durham, Birmingham, Wormwood Scrubs
 Screening done by LD nurse in healthcare in
Wormwood Scrubs; by DLO in Birmingham &
by Education & Skills staff in Durham
 Done in first 48 hrs in W. Scrubs + Bham but
later in Durham
 Overall positive ID for LD 7% - see next slide
for exact numbers
Dept of Health trial
Prison
No. Offered
No. refused
ID as +ve for ID
Birmingham
1364 (85% of
new prisoners)
195 (14%)
59 (5%)
Wormwood
Scrubs
1099 (71%)
58 (5%)
89 (8.5%)
Durham
362 (57%)
143 (39%)
21 (9.5%)
What happened next?
 Up to each prison what they did when
someone identified with LD
 Wormwood Scrubs: the LD nurse called up
their local CLDT & invited them in to meet the
person & do a full assessment
 Birmingham: 3rd sector agency Care First
worked in prison (doing activities like crafts)
& followed people up when they left – those
with LD referred to them
 Durham: ???
What else would we like to do?
 Train prison officers on what this means &
what support the person may need
 Ensure support for person on literacy - eg to
fill in forms for visitors, meals, doctor visits etc
 Ensure not bullied/harrassed/tricked
 Ensure wing officers aware (eg he may be
struggling to understand, not being stroppy)
 Provide easy read info
 Provide access to work + treatment
 Ensure liaison with local services
What happened after the DH 3 mth
trial?
 A hold up + Government change + austerity!
 Is it still the right thing to do?
 If yes, why arent we doing it?
 Is it just resources? (who pays for LDSQ
forms? Who conducts the assessments? Who
logs the data? Where? Who follows up?)
 Screening is a target for CLDTs & prisons......
Conclusions
 We know how to screen for LD
 We could negotiate reasonable price with test
company
 We know how to liaise with prisons
 We have some ideas for what to do after
people are identified
 We know its the right thing to do
 Lets do it!