Criminal Justice

1
Criminal Justice

• Speech Therapy has an impact on the criminal
  justice system by reducing crime and re-offending
  
• Karen Elliott Kim Turner, Oct 2008

2
Origin of the myth

• Developing oral communication and productive
  thinking skills in HM Prisons
• 21 of the ESB sample were reconvicted in the 1st
  year after release compared with 44 nationally
  (a 52 reduction)
• BBC News Communication skills cut
  re-offending
• Linked these figures directly to Speech and
  Language Therapy

3
False Origin True Myth

• Clearly the original evidence is flawed
• BUT
• There is evidence linking language disorders with
  future offending
• There is evidence about the high rates of
  communication difficulties in the offender
  population

4
False Origin True Myth cont

• There is evidence for the benefit of Speech and
  Language Therapy reducing the impact of these
  communication difficulties
• Leading to improved access to treatment and
  rehabilitation programmes
• Decreased social isolation and increased
  employability
• These all indicate that Speech Therapy has an
  impact on reducing crime and re-offending

5
Reducing Crime

• SLT Interventions with vulnerable children

6
Early Language Development and Future Criminal
Behaviour

• Link between SLI and later conduct problems
  Hooper et al (2003)
• Boys with a language impairment were rated higher
  on delinquency scales than controls Brownlie et
  al (2004)
• Higher rate of language problems amongst children
  with behavioural disorders Cohen et al (1993)
  Valance et al (1998)

7
Bercow Report

• The Bercow Review of Services acknowledged the
  links between language impairment and future
  offending
• If a child does not benefit from early
  intervention, there are multiple risks of lower
  educational attainment, of behavioural problems,
  of emotional and psychological difficulties, of
  poorer employment prospects, challenges to mental
  health and, in some cases, of a descent into
  criminality. (pg8)

8
Efficacy of SLT Treatment for Children with
Expressive Language Delays

• The Hanen Program for parents has demonstrated
  significant improvements in expressive language
  skills for children with severe expressive
  language delays Girolametto et al 1996b
• Gibbard (1994) demonstrated significantly greater
  gains in the expressive language skills of the
  experimental group compared to the control group

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Efficacy of SLT Treatment for Children with
Receptive Language Delays

• Pre-school language support provided for short
  periods twice-weekly was demonstrated to enhance
  comprehension skills Dockrell, Stuart King,
  2006
• Adolescents with language and communication
  problems showed significant improvements in
  their receptive vocabulary, recalling sentences
  and non-literal comprehension Joffe, 2006

10
Efficacy of SLT Treatment for Children with
Pragmatic Language Problems

• Intervention produced a signal for change in
  pragmatics and/or language behaviour in all
  children Adams et al 2006

11
Reducing Re-Offending

• The Role of SLTs in YOIs and Prison Settings

12
Level of Communication difficulties among the
Offender Population

• Incarcerated adolescent boys have displayed
  higher levels of language deficits Davis et al
  (1991)
• Young Offenders (17-20yrs) had an average age
  equivalent of 1204 on language assessment and
  1101 on vocabulary Pryor (1998)
• 55 of males (15-17yrs) in a YOI scored poor or
  below on Test of Adolescent and Adult Language
  compared to 9 of controls Bryan (2007)
• Youth Offenders in Puerto Rica demonstrated
  deficits in language skills and pragmatic
  functioning Linares-Orama (2005)

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Offender treatment

• Basic Skills Training
• Offending Behaviour Programmes
• Drug Misuse Programmes
• Educational Courses
• Vocational Courses
• Enhanced Thinking Skills
• Reasoning and Rehabilitation
• HM Prison Service Reducing Prisoner
  Re-Offending (2002)

14
SLT Role in Improving Access to Treatment

• Pre-therapy
• Build confidence in communication skills
• Teach specific vocabulary
• Address barriers to group-working
• Indirect
• Informing facilitators of specific difficulties
• Modification of environment

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Pathways Out of Re-Offending

• Accommodation
• Education, training and employment
• Health
• Drugs and alcohol
• Finance, benefit and debt
• Children and families
• Attitudes, thinking and behaviour
• National Reducing Re-Offending Delivery Plan
  (2005)

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SLT Role in decreasing risk factors

• Employment Hall et al (1999) prisoners are
  rarely equipped with the skills that employers
  value highly namely, oral communication and
  interpersonal skills
• Children and families Social isolation is known
  to be a risk factor for offending and
  re-offending (Every Child Matters)

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• Health Finance, Benefit and Debt
• Instilling confidence in their communication
  skills to access the required services
• Adaptability in communication modes/style in
  order to ensure appropriate and effective
  interactions with services
• Language skills to process and absorb advice and
  assistance
• Drugs and Alcohol Attitudes, Thinking and
  Behaviour
• Pre-therapy and indirect work as discussed
  earlier to access programmes

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Conclusions

• Speech and Language Therapy interventions with
  children can reduce the impact of their speech
  and language impairments consequently reducing
  their risk of developing behavioural and conduct
  problems and therefore reducing the risk of
  offending
• Speech and Language Therapy interventions with
  offenders could result in improved access to
  Treatment groups, improved confidence in
  communication skills and therefore a reduced risk
  of re-offending

19
Conclusions cont

• Therefore we would assert that Speech and
  Language Therapy has an impact on the criminal
  justice system by reducing crime and re-offending

20
Abolishing the Myth Revealing the Facts

• Developing an evidence base
• Are children treated for SLI less likely to
  develop conduct disorder than those who do not
  receive treatment
• Does pre-therapy reduce drop-out rates and
  improve outcomes of offender treatment programmes