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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 02 Aug 2000 21:58:14
From: Joan Petersilia <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [berkeley-band] Study: Criminal Offenders with Disabilities
The University of California has just published, and issued a press release,
on a study by Dr. Joan Petersilia, entitled "Doing Justice? Criminal
Offenders with Developmental Disabilities." The press release is reprinted
below:
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS RELEASE
EQUAL JUSTICE ELUDES PEOPLE WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES,
UC IRVINE RESEARCHER FINDS
State Lacks Programs, Policies to Ensure Legal Access for
Developmentally Disabled
Irvine, Calif., Aug. 2, 2000 —Among California’s burgeoning prison
population, an increasingly disproportionate number of people with
developmental disabilities including mental retardation, cerebral palsy and
autism is finding equal justice often is out of reach, according to UC
Irvine researcher Joan Petersilia.
Their rates of conviction and incarceration are higher than those of people
without developmental disabilities; they are less likely to strike a plea
bargain, to be granted probation or released on parole; and they’re often
abused in prison. What’s more, police, courts and prisons are ill-equipped
to handle them, and state regional centers that provide services for
developmentally disabled people lack resources and training to deal with
criminal offenders. As a result, those who run afoul of the law are likely
to fall through the cracks of the criminal justice system.
“They are at a disadvantage at every step of the criminal justice system,”
says Petersilia, who is a professor of criminology, law and society in UCI’s
School of Social Ecology. Her research report, “Doing Justice? Criminal
Offenders With Developmental Disabilities,” is being released this week by
the University of California’s California Policy Research Center. It
summarizes Petersilia’s analysis of existing data and programs—both
“woefully inadequate,” she says—for criminal offenders with developmental
disabilities.
While people with developmental disabilities comprise no more than 3 percent
of the general population, they represent up to 10 percent of prisoners,
according to Petersilia. Most of those arrested are mildly retarded, with
an I.Q. between 50 and 70. Their disability often is not recognized by
arresting officers; thus, they receive no special accommodation or
assistance.
Unable to understand their rights, such as Miranda warnings, they often
waive them. When questioned, they may give answers they think police
officers want to hear. They are less able to assist in their defense in
court, and often make self-incriminating statements. In jail, they are
often victimized by other inmates and, because they have a hard time
understanding prison rules, may spend more time in segregation. This limits
opportunities for work, “good behavior” credits and early release.
“Without special accommodations—such as legal advocates to help them
understand police and court procedures—people with developmental
disabilities are unable to access the justice system. Effectively, they
receive harsher penalties,” Petersilia says.
Compounding the problem is a lack of clearly defined oversight for services
for mentally retarded people charged with crimes.
“There is no state agency that assumes this responsibility,” Petersilia
says. “It is nobody’s problem, nobody’s fault.”
She notes that several of the state’s regional developmental services
centers—notably South Central Los Angeles, Valley Mountain (Stockton), Kern
and San Diego—have initiated training programs and policies to assist those
arrested. But receiving services from the Department of Developmental
Services is voluntary, and Petersilia estimates that just 22 percent of
eligible mentally retarded people avail themselves of the regional center
services.
Real change in the way people with developmental disabilities are treated in
the criminal justice system must begin with state leadership, Petersilia
emphasizes. Her recommendations include the following:
· Training advocates in both mental retardation and criminal justice to
assist developmentally disabled people before they’re questioned by police.
· Enhancing the authority and funding of regional centers to deal with
mentally retarded offenders.
· Educating mentally retarded people, their families and care providers to
help them avoid criminal activities and protect themselves from criminal
victimization.
· Providing sentencing options appropriate for mentally retarded people,
including community-based rehabilitation programs.
Petersilia is co-chair of the National Research Council’s Law and Justice
Committee and former president of the American Society of Criminology.
A summary of her research findings is available on the California Policy
Research Center Website at http://www.ucop.edu/cprc/PetersiliaMR-DD.html
or http://www.ucop.edu/cprc/Petersilia-mr-dd.pdf
The complete 55 page report is free to California State government offices
and is available to others for $15 (contact California Policy Research
Center at(510 643-9328).
You can contact Joan at:
Joan Petersilia, Ph.D.
Professor of Criminology
School of Social Ecology
University of California, Irvine
Irvine, California 92697-7080
(949) 824 6438
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