New research published today in the Lancet shows that up to one in four women prisoners in England and Wales self-harm every year. The largest study of self-harm in prisons also reports that female prisoners are four times more likely to self-harm than male inmates. Previous systematic reviews have investigated self-harm in prisons (Lohner, 2007 and Dixon-Gordon, [read the full story…]
Criminology has used strain theory as a way of looking at how certain social structures within a society may produce pressure on citizens to commit crime, identifying strain as either structural, e.g. processed at the societal level ,or individual referring to difficulties experienced in moving towards satisfying needs There has been little attempt to use [read the full story…]
Cognitive behavioural therapy has been recognised as the leading method of treatment for non-disabled men who have committed sexual offences, but men with learning disabilities are often excluded from such treatment groups. However, there is a growing body of evidence of the effectiveness of this approach for men with learning disabilities as well. There have [read the full story…]
The British Crime Survey suggests that 9 out of ten disabled people have been the victims of disability hate crime, but Mencap’s Don’t Stand By report suggested that only around 3% of incidents are recorded by the police as hate crimes with only 1% leading to convictions. The researchers in this three-year project set out [read the full story…]
The cognitive interview has been developed to help with memory retrieval, specifically in the criminal justice system to address concerns about the unreliability of eye-witness accounts. It can consist of a number of techniques for helping people to recall specific incidents, for example asking the interviewee about general activities and feelings at the time they [read the full story…]
Results from an analysis of the British Crime Survey suggest that 9 out of ten disabled people have been the victims of disability hate crime However, there appears to be still a lack of clarity and understanding as to what constitutes a disability hate crime and under reporting of such crimes. Mencap’s Don’t Stand By [read the full story…]
The 2009 Bradley Review espoused a new approach to dealing with mentally ill offenders and those with learning disabilities to prevent this vulnerable group being caught in the revolving door of the criminal justice system. One of the recommendations was to develop awareness training for criminal justice staff and members of the judiciary to help [read the full story…]
Disability Hate Crime refers to crimes targeted at anybody as a result of his or her disability or impairment, as defined by the Equality Act 2010 and can take many forms, including ate crime can take many forms including: physical attacks, threats of attack or verbal abuse, insults or harassment. The association of Chief Police [read the full story…]
Despite public campaigns to combat stigma around mental illness, people with mental health problems still face ongoing discrimination. And while some sections of the media focus on mental illness in cases of violence, a rise in the number of people who are more of a risk to themselves goes unnoticed. We still find it difficult [read the full story…]
Here at the Mental Elf we are always on the look out for research that extends trials into new areas, and offers practical benefits to people recovering from mental illness. Within psychiatric wards violence and challenging behaviour can be extremely distressing, with a 2007 Healthcare Commission report finding that over half of staff and almost half of [read the full story…]
