Submission to the independent review of the criminal courts – Written evidence on neurodivergence, vulnerability and the criminal courts

Smith, Tom

Abstract

Recent years have seen increased attention to both neurodiversity as a general concept and social concern, and specifically to the way in which the CJS engages with individuals who are neurodivergent. Interest (and, to some extent, action) in this area has been catalysed by an exponential increase in inter-disciplinary scholarship and policy-level engagement, not least because of the landmark evidence review by the Criminal Justice Joint Inspectorate in 2021. This paper (submitted as evidence to the Independent Review of Criminal Courts) focuses principally on vulnerable, and specifically neurodivergent, defendants. It discusses the challenges which exist for neurodivergent individuals in the context of criminal courts, based on existing research literature. It then provides insights from an ongoing research project exploring criminal defence representation for autistic defendants in criminal courts, conducted by the authors. Finally, it proposes suggested changes which should be considered in any court reform programme.
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• Report Type: Other
• Acceptance Date: Jan 28, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jan 31, 2025
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/13662705