Author Archives: sfairclough1

Dr. Alan Cusack, University of Limerick, Castletroy, Co. Limerick Introduction and background It is well-established that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) frequently interact with the police either as victims (Mayes, 2003) or suspects (Woodbury-Smith & Dein, 2014). Although no evidence has been found to show that “people with ASD are more likely to offendContinue reading “The Development and Evaluation of an Autism Awareness Training Programme for Members of An Garda Síochána”

Chloe MacDonald (Cardiff University), Dr Thomas Smith (University of the West England Bristol), Dr Roxanna Dehaghani (Cardiff University) Autism, Access to Justice and Criminal Defence Although autistic individuals are more likely to encounter the criminal justice system (CJS) as victims, when they encounter the CJS as suspects they face greater barriers to accessing justice andContinue reading “Access to Justice: Engaging Defence Lawyers in Research on Autism in the Criminal Justice System”

Dr Alison Coyne (Research Officer at the National Office for Community Safety | Department of Justice (Ireland)) Introduction In Ireland, once a young person turns 18 years, he or she loses access to age-appropriate interventions, entitlements and supports overnight – both in the criminal justice system, and in services provided in the community (Irish PenalContinue reading “‘Bridging the Gap in Youth Justice: Security, Support, Agency and Communication’”

Melanie Jameson (Dyslexia Consultancy Malvern & Prisoner Learning Alliance) Introduction Any exploration of the vulnerable accused in the criminal justice system (CJS) should consider whether the majority of suspects, defendants and prisoners are vulnerable, often in multiple ways. In recent years a growing understanding of the nature of adverse childhood experiences (Hughes et al inContinue reading “Disadvantage, Neurodivergence and Disability”

Dr Brendan M. O’Mahony, Professor Rebecca Milne (Both from The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Portsmouth) and Dr Kevin Smith (Crime, Policing and Investigation, University of Sunderland) Introduction Most prisoners receive determinate prison sentences and are released automatically on licence to the community at the halfway point of their custodial sentence whereContinue reading “The use of Intermediaries (communication specialists) at Parole Board Oral Hearings in England and Wales.”

Dr Charlotte Walker (Lecturer in Social Sciences, York St John University) Introduction If you were charged with a criminal offence, would you appear unrepresented at court or would you wish to be represented by a lawyer? This is a decision that defendants must make in England and Wales every day. Some defendants will be entitledContinue reading “Unrepresented defendants’ experiences in the magistrates’ courts”

Dr Alan Cusack (Associate Professor of Law, University of Limerick) As the primary gatekeepers of Ireland’s criminal justice system, members of An Garda Síochána enjoy unparalleled influence over the trajectory of a criminal investigation (Cusack, 2018). Moreover, as first responders to alleged acts of criminality they are uniquely placed to identify and deploy essential pre-trial,Continue reading “Protecting Vulnerable Suspects: A Survey of Existing and Emerging Pre-Trial Safeguards in Ireland”

Dr Charlotte Walker (Lecturer in Social Sciences, York St John University) Introduction This blog post discusses some findings from my own research study, which examined unrepresented defendants and their experience at court. Attention in this post will specifically be on the number of defendants self-representing in the magistrates’ court and whether there has been anContinue reading “How many defendants self-represent and has there been a change in the number of defendants self-representing in recent years?”

Dr Jo Wells (Lecturer in Criminology, Bournemouth University) Introduction National Health Service England (NHSE) oversees a national network of CJLD schemes who adapt a generic service specification to identify justice-involved individuals meeting the threshold for intervention under their all-vulnerability criteria(NHS England 2019) . The model of delivery embeds CJLD teams in county police force custodyContinue reading “Identifying the vulnerable detainee in an English Police custody suite: Do Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion (CJLD) practitioners share the view of police custody staff?”