Staff’s perceptions, attitudes, awareness and understanding of people with intellectual disabilities in the criminal justice system

Purpose

People with intellectual disabilities (ID) are overrepresented in the criminal justice system (CJS) both as victims and perpetrators. The purpose of this paper is to provide a thematic synthesis of qualitative data on criminal justice professionals’ perceptions, attitudes, awareness and understanding of people with ID.

Design/methodology/approach

A systematic search of four major electronic databases and one grey literature database revealed six qualitative studies and three mixed-methods studies to synthesise.

Findings

Results reflect the experiences of 530 professionals internationally. All studies were quality appraised. Four analytical themes emerged: (i) professionals perceived people with ID as vulnerable and who required adaptations; (ii) professionals recognised change is required considering the additional needs of this group; (iii) uncertainty was expressed at how best to support individuals and in particular (iv) when considering issues around responsibility.

Research limitations/implications

Further training is required alongside research into barriers for criminal justice professionals to effectively implement learnings from training.

Originality/value

Unlike similar previous reviews in this area that have been more specific with their question or sample, this study sought to explore research involving all professionals working across the CJS, including police, lawyers, judges, magistrates and probation officers.