Convicted criminals with disabilities (FOI)

​Request

A

I would like to know how many of Jersey’s convicted criminals, who have disabilities, were issued prison sentences and how many received community service.

B

I would like figures for the last ten years of convicts with disabilities and whether they were given a custodial sentence or community service.

Response

A and B

The Prison Service does not have access to information related to community disposals ordered by the courts for convicted criminals.

Individuals are not required to declare a disability and some forms of disability are not readily identifiable. 

It will be evident in many cases from medical records but not in every case and of course these records are strictly confidential. 

Consequently, the Prison Service is not in a position to accurately state how many convicted criminals who have disabilities are in custody at any point in time, far less over a ten-year period. 

Community service: it is a clear principle of community service in Jersey that no person should be sent to custody because they are unsuitable for community service through disability or other factors such as child care commitments. 

Similarly, information about an individual’s learning disability can be useful for Probation Officers to adjust the style and content of supervision sessions.

In other jurisdictions, disability, medical conditions and child care responsibilities have resulted in people being assessed as unsuitable for community penalties and being imprisoned as a result.

This is not the case in Jersey. 

However, a disability does not prevent someone being imprisoned.