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Recognising, assessing and managing offending behaviour in persons with intellectual disability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Peter Leonard ,
Sean Shanahan  and
John Hillery
Peter Leonard
Affiliation:
Psychiatry of Intellectual Diability
John Hillery
Affiliation:
St Raphael's, St John of God Kildare Services, Celbridge, Co Kildare, Ireland
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Abstract

The association between intellectual disability and offending is complex. Recent evidence would suggest that the received wisdom of intellectually disabled persons being more prone to offending is either incorrect or only tells part of the story. Those within the ‘borderline’ intellectual disability range may be more prone to committing sexual and criminal damage offences but those with an IQ less than 50 rarely offend.

The offender with intellectual disability shares characteristics with his counterpart from the general population. As with the general population as a whole, offending in this group is often unreported and its recognition is complicated by issues of competence. The lack of validated forensic assessment schedules for this population poses a further challenge. Some general approaches to assessment in this population are discussed. This case report illustrates the difficulties of assessing and managing offending behaviour in an individual with moderate intellectual disability. The challenge of treating offenders with an intellectual disability is immense and requires specialist expertise. Managing such cases in a generic setting is inappropriate and the need for a forensic learning disability service in Ireland is highlighted.

Keywords

Learning disabilityIntellectual disabilityMental handicapRisk assessmentRisk managementForensic assessmentSex offendingCriminal offending
Type
Case reports
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 22 , Issue 3 , September 2005 , pp. 107 - 112
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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