Commentary on 'Supporting people with cognitive disabilities in contact with the criminal justice system: the importance of relationship-based practice' (Ellem, 2019)

摘要

The criminalisation of some people with cognitive disabilities is becoming an increasingly scrutinised issue, driven in large part by pressing scholarly, policy, and practice concerns that have emerged since the 1990s. Advocacy bodies, justice agencies, and disability support services are increasingly aware of the need to address the specific support needs of this group of people in order to counteract their criminalisation and prevent their entry and re-entry into the criminal justice system. Researchers from areas as diverse as social work, youth studies, disability studies, policy studies, legal studies, criminology, Indigenous studies, epidemiology, and health and mental health have joined with advocates, policy makers, and practitioners to scrutinise the conditions, processes, and structures that create significant vulnerability to criminal justice involvement and incarceration for this group.