What can social and environmental factors tell us about the risk of offending by people with intellectual disabilities?

Abstract

A minority of men and women with intellectual disabilities at times engage in, and are suspected, or convicted, of illegal activity. Recent policy developments in England and Wales emphasise the need to respond appropriately to putative offending risk through the provision of safe and effective community management, treatment, and support services. In line with these concerns, research has focused increasingly on testing the utility of an evolving variety of risk assessment procedures. Here, the authors set out to challenge the repertoire of a number of prominent and/or recently developed risk assessment procedures and the scope of an associated research literature, on the basis that contextual risk factors are receiving insufficient attention in relation to offending among people with intellectual disabilities. Drawing on the wider criminological literature, a novel study is reported that compares key contemporary proximal social and environmental circumstances in the lives of offenders and non-offenders with intellectual disabilities. A contextual risk score is derived, providing statistical support for increased consideration of the impact of relevant social and environmental circumstances. Increased emphasis on key contextual risk factors is recommended to strengthen community service responses to offenders with intellectual disabilities.

Keywords:

• offenders with intellectual disabilities
• risk assessment & management
• community learning disability services
• social and environmental factors and crime
• forensic mental health

Acknowledgements

This paper presents independent research conducted as part of the first author's Ph.D. Fellowship; funded by the Department of Health's National Forensic Mental Health Research & Development Programme. The authors are grateful to Lorna Rouse for administrative assistance; to the National Institute for Health Research's Collaborations for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (NIHR CLAHRC) for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough for support to Isabel Clare and Tony Holland; and to all those who gave their time to take part in this study. The authors would like to thank Professor David Farrington for valuable suggestions following an early review of the data contained in this report. The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, NIHR, or the Department of Health.