Overview of responses to the Criminal justice system Issues paper (Auslan)

Overview of responses to the Criminal justice system Issues paper

Introduction

The Disability Royal Commission published an issues paper in January 2020 on its website. It contained questions and asked for feedback about the criminal justice system.

The criminal justice system incudes police, courts, lawyers and the legal system. People who interact with the criminal justice system may be victims of a crime, people who are accused of a crime, or witnesses.

The issues paper asked for feedback about the experiences of people with disability in the criminal justice system.

The Disability Royal Commission received more than 50 responses from people with disability, government agencies, service providers, organisations and other individuals such as family members.

We have published a summary document of what we were told in these responses on our website. The responses will help inform our work and our recommendations to help ensure people with disability are safe.

This video highlights some key issues from the summary document.

What did responses say?

Over representation

Responses said that people with disability are over represented across all areas of the criminal justice system. This includes as victims, people who are accused of a crime and witnesses.

Criminalisation of disability

‘Criminalisation of disability’ is where a person with disability is stereotyped as being a problem.

Responses said that people with disability might come into contact with the criminal justice system when it would have been better for a different system to respond. For example, when police are called to ‘manage’ a person with disability whose behaviours are seen as ‘defiant’ or ‘difficult’. 

We need to better understand that many people who come into contact with the criminal justice system have undiagnosed or untreated impairment, poor health, trauma, homelessness or other issues.

Lack of access to justice

Responses said that people with disability can experience discrimination when they try to access the criminal justice system. For example, people with disability may be seen as unreliable witnesses or not able to make their own legal decisions.

These attitudes may come about because there is no disability awareness training for police, lawyers, judges and others who work in the system.

People told us that the criminal justice system does not adapt to the needs of people with disability, especially people with diverse communication needs. For example, calling in a qualified interpreter at short notice can be very difficult.

Detention

Responses said:

• People with disability are over represented in prisons.
• More needs to be done to improve the conditions of detention in Australia.
• The use of restrictive practices and solitary confinement is not appropriate and should be condemned
• ‘Indefinite detention’ of people with disability, where they are kept in prison with      no release date, is a serious issue. Sometimes the court thinks that a person with disability cannot understand the charge against them, or cannot give evidence and so they consider that person ‘unfit to plead’ or ‘unfit to stand trial’. Then they go to prison and there is no specific release date. Some people with disability might plead guilty so they don’t go in to indefinite detention.

Services, supports and funding

People told us that getting access to supports, services and funding in the criminal justice system, including prisons, can be difficult.

Disability support can also be expensive. And sometimes it may not be sensitive to the needs of people from different cultural backgrounds, or the needs of people who have experienced trauma.

Barriers to reporting and investigating violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation

Responses said:

• People with disability find it hard to complain in the criminal justice system.
• One of the biggest barriers is stigma and discriminatory attitudes. People with disability may not be believed or may not have their complaints taken seriously.
• People with disability may not be seen as reliable or credible witnesses. If police don’t think that prosecution will be successful, they may be reluctant to investigate crimes against people with disability.
• In some settings like prisons, the environment is not open to reporting violence and abuse. For example, there is a power imbalance between women with disability in prisons and prison staff. This can make it difficult for a woman with disability to make a confidential complaint. 

More information

For more information about this summary document, and to read people’s responses to the issues paper, visit the Policy & Research section on our website.

www.disability.royalcommission.gov.au