This panel draws together a set of papers focused on disabled people’s experience(s) of criminal justice agencies. Setting the scene, the panel begins with a paper by Macdonald and Peacock that calls for the discipline of criminology to engage the marginalised experience(s) of disabled communities. Following this, two papers present findings from research projects focused on criminal justice responses to disabled people. The paper by Peacock presents research on language and communication needs in police custody. Williams’s paper presents findings from research exploring police responses to disabled and neurodivergent victims of sexual violence. The final paper in the panel by Jobe presents findings from a participatory theatre project that aimed to develop inclusive police and support service responses to disabled victims of sexual violence.

Papers in the panel are as follows:

Prof Stephen Macdonald, Durham University and Dr Donna Peacock, University of West Scotland. Dis/ableist Criminology: Comprehending the Intersections between Disability and Criminological Theory.

Dr Donna Peacock, University of West Scotland, Dr Patrick Hutchinson, University of West Scotland and Clare Holland, CNTW. Language And Communication Needs (SLCN) In Police Custody

Dr. Helen Williams, University of Sunderland, and Dr. Alison Jobe (Durham University). Testimonial Injustice? Police decision-making in sexual offence cases in which the victim/survivor has learning disabilities and/or neurodiversity.

Dr. Alison Jobe, Durham University, and Dr. Helen Williams, University of Sunderland. Towards inclusive criminal justice responses to victims of sexual violence. Presenting findings from a participatory theatre project.

This paper is a call for the discipline of criminology to begin to re-engage with the marginalised voices of disabled people who have been excluded, pathologised and silenced within this field of study. Until recently the concept of disability has been absent from within the studies of criminology and victimology. This is because disability is typically (mis)understood as a health issue that impacts offenders’ or victims' experiences within the criminal justice system. Yet, within Disability Studies, disabled people are conceptualised as an oppressed minority population, that is structurally vulnerable to criminality and victimisation. This paper will trace the parallel developments of criminological and disability theory, as it becomes clear that there were several historical and contemporary points at which the disciplines could and should have intersected. Yet they failed to do so, neglecting to comprehensively understand the lives and perspectives of disabled people who are victims, perpetrators, or who otherwise encounter criminal justice organisations. This theoretical paper argues that to understand the nexus of crime/victimisation and disability fully, the discipline of criminology must develop and incorporate dis/ableist spaces and approaches whereby individual, cultural, and structural ableism and disablism can be examined, challenged, and critiqued.

The police custody setting is one of the most challenging environments a person can experience in terms of communication requirements. The suspect is required to respond to complex questions with potentially unfamiliar vocabulary and rapid topic changes, while remembering and articulating an experience in sequence, against a milieu of heightened emotions. Unsupported speech, language and communication needs (SLCN) represent a significant barrier in this context where engagement is heavily reliant on effective comprehension and communication. SLCN has been described as a ‘hidden’ disability; with difficulties such as poor understanding and use of expressive language often not noticeable to non-experts. This paper will illustrate that people who have SLCN are more prevalent in criminal justice settings than in the wider population. Previous research focusing primarily on young people and the prison population has led to calls for early interventions and screening, particularly in youth justice settings. The paper presents data from NHS Liaison and Diversion (L&D) referrals in a single police force region in England that were screened for SLCN over a period of three months. The results indicate a need for early identification of SLCN for all age groups, and for those with no previous SLCN-related diagnoses.

This paper presents findings from ESRC funded research that aimed to co-create change and develop criminal justice practice using participatory theatre-based methods. Disabled victims of sexual violence are an unheard group and participatory research methods work to challenge marginalisation through principles of democratic participation and inclusion. Research shows that reports of sexual violence to the police from learning disabled and/or neurodivergent victims are less likely to result in a charge or a conviction, and it is evident that current practices in the criminal justice system need adjustment to develop inclusive responses to victims of sexual violence. In response, a film- Us Too: Alisha's Story- was co-created using participatory methods by experts by experience, researchers and a feminist theatre company. Working in partnership with Durham police, a local rape crisis centre (RSACC), Open Clasp Theatre Company and ARC- Us Too, the film was used to develop theatre-based reflective practice workshops. The workshops were piloted with police officers and multi-agency practitioners in 2023, with the aim of developing inclusive criminal justice responses to sexual violence. This paper presents early findings and outcomes from this participatory project.