1st Edition

Autism and Criminal Justice The Experience of Suspects, Defendants and Offenders in England and Wales

Edited By Tom Smith Copyright 2023
130 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

130 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

130 Pages 4 B/W Illustrations
by Routledge

This collection presents a summary of current knowledge regarding autistic suspects, defendants and offenders in the criminal justice system of England and Wales. The volume examines the interaction between each stage of the criminal justice process and autistic individuals accused or convicted of crime, considering the problems, strengths and possibilities for improving the system to better... Read more

Acknowledgements

List of contributors

Table of abbreviations

List of illustrations

Table of cases

Table of legislation

Introduction

Chapter I: ‘Street’ policing and autism: perceptions and preconceptions of police officers when interacting with autistic suspects in the community

Shirley Reveley and Iain Dickie

Chapter II: Autistic suspects in police custody: issues affecting the effectiveness and fairness of police interviews

Clare Allely and David Murphy

Chapter III: Autistic defendants in court: perceptions and support for accessing justice

Clare Allely, Eddie Chaplin, Jody Salter, Jane McCarthy, Felicity Gerry KC

Chapter IV: Autism in prisons: an overview of experiences of custody and implications for custodial rehabilitation for autistic prisoners

Luke P Vinter and Gayle Dillon

Conclusion

Tom Smith

Bibliography

Further Recommended Reading

Index

Biography

Tom Smith is an Associate Professor in Law and a Head of the Global Security, Crime and Justice research group within the College of Business and Law, University of the West of England (UWE), Bristol, UK. His research interests include remand, disclosure of evidence in criminal proceedings, criminal defence lawyers, criminal legal aid, court reporting and open justice, and neurodivergence within the criminal justice system. He has published widely on these and related subjects. He has undertaken various research activities with NGOs, charities and government bodies, including working on cross-jurisdictional projects related to criminal defence and a pretrial detention reform project in China; delivering training for the Judicial College and College of Policing on disclosure; and giving evidence to the Victorian Royal Commission into the Management of Police Informants and various House of Commons Select Committee inquiries. He is the founder and joint coordinator of the Neurodivergence in Criminal Justice Network (NICJN), a research and knowledge exchange group seeking to promote evidence-led practice in criminal justice processes involving neurodivergent individuals, which brings together expertise from academia, practice and the community.