Vulnerable adults and children left to fend for themselves in court

Vulnerable Defendants in the Criminal Courts, reviews the provision of support in the court system for adults with learning disabilities or learning difficulties. The second half of the report examines the situation for children.

It concludes that despite defendants in both groups being known to be vulnerable, a lack of planning and support for their needs means they are routinely unable to understand and participate effectively in criminal proceedings, which is crucial to the right to a fair trial enshrined in the Human Rights Act. Despite progress towards compliance, the report warns the Disability Discrimination Act also requires HM Courts Service, as a public body, to enable defendants with learning disabilities to participate fully in court proceedings.

The report finds:

• A third of vulnerable adults experiencing the criminal courts say the use of simpler language would help them and around one in ten said they had difficulties expressing themselves and felt rushed; some do not know why they are in court or what they have done wrong.
• There is no systematic procedure for identifying adults with learning disabilities and, consequently, support needs are often left unmet.

All children appearing in court are vulnerable by their young age, but many are doubly vulnerable because of mental health problems, learning disabilities, past abuse and because they have been in the care system. This is exacerbated by the lack of training that professionals working with child defendants – including the judiciary, lawyers, courts and Crown Prosecution Service staff and police officers – receive on child welfare needs and rights.

Talking about his experience at court, one defendant with learning disabilities said:

“I didn’t like it, it shocked me. The judge asked me if I understood and I said yes even though I didn’t. I couldn’t hear anything, my legs turned to jelly and my mum collapsed.”

The report recommends:

• Providing equivalent support for vulnerable defendants as that offered to vulnerable witnesses.
• Judges and magistrates should receive training on the range of impairments (including learning disabilities) that defendants can display, the implications of these impairments for the criminal justice process, and methods by which vulnerable defendants’ participation in court proceedings can be enhanced.
• There should be greater and more flexible use of the community order in sentencing vulnerable defendants, ensuring full compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act and particularly the Disability Equality Duty.
• The government commitment to developing a young defendants’ pack should be revived and implemented. The pack should provide clear, factual information about the various components of the criminal justice process, including what happens at court, and the rights and responsibilities of defendants within that process.
• The age of criminal responsibility in England & Wales should be reviewed with a view to raising it at least to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended minimum of 12 years and preferably to the European norm of 14 years.

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said:

“There is nothing fair about a system where things are not explained or understood and vulnerable people are not represented or protected. A single high profile miscarriage of justice catches the headlines but literally thousands of children and people with learning disabilities are ill served by a system that does not take account of their needs.”

In her foreword to the report, Baroness Joyce Quin, who as a MP served as Labour’s first Prisons Minister, said:

“To ensure that justice is done, it is vital that our courts are fully accessible to everyone. I applaud the work that has been done on this report and I hope that the far reaching recommendations will be given serious consideration.”