Navigating the Criminal Justice System

Course type

Two-day, face-to-face course.

Who attended?

This course was for managers, key workers, case managers, clinicians and frontline staff in disability and community services

Note: Many other Disability Justice Project courses built on this course to focus on:

Young people in the criminal justice system
Supporting victims of crime with cognitive disability in the criminal justice system
Transition from prison to the community

Course Description

This practical two-day course provided participants with the knowledge, skills and contacts they need to be able to effectively support a defendant with cognitive disability in their interactions with police, legal representatives and the courts.

The course was interactive and built on the experience of participants.

Participants learnt about:

Common pitfalls for people with cognitive disability in the criminal justice system
Roles of disability support workers when supporting people, to get the best outcomes possible when they are in contact with the criminal justice system.
Arrest and rights in police custody process
Role of a support person when a person with cognitive disability is arrested
Getting a lawyer and working with the lawyer
NSW court processes and supporting a person with cognitive disability at court.
Understanding Section 32 Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act, providing evidence and developing a support plan.
Understanding Apprehended Violence Orders and their impact of people with cognitive disability.
Understanding and explaining police and court orders e.g. bail, AVO conditions, bonds etc.
What to do if a person with cognitive disability is going to gaol.

A short online version of this course in also available.

Course Materials

The following course materials were provided and are available for download:

Navigating the Criminal Justice System – Facilitators Guide (to provide the trainer with how the course was to be delivered)

Navigating the Criminal Justice System – Participants Notes (for the attendees to take away)

What is Section 32?

Day 1 – Navigating the Criminal Justice System – PowerPoint Slides

Day 2 – Navigating the Criminal Justice System – PowerPoint Slides

Links to Videos used During the Course:

Getting Arrested by the Police

Bail Conditions – Don’t Break Them

Marlon – Presumed Guilty

So You Have to go to Court

December 12, 2017

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December 11, 2017

The Family Matters Report 2017 shows the rate at which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are removed from their families continues to be an escalating national crisis. Without immediate action from all levels of government further generations of children will be lost to their families, cultures and communities. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are 9.8 times more likely to be living in out-of-home care than non-Indigenous children.

December 7, 2017

Mission Australia have just released results from their 16th Youth Survey, in which 24,055 young people aged 15 to 19 took part. Young people identified mental health, alcohol and drugs and equity and discrimination as the most important issues in Australia today, with around one third of young people identifying mental health (33.7%) or alcohol and drugs (32.0%) as important issues in Australia today and almost three in ten respondents identifying equity and discrimination (27.3%) as a major issue.

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