A cross-sector partnership for supporting children and young people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system

Children and young people with learning disabilities are overrepresented in the criminal justice system compared with their non-disabled peers. This article explores the factors contributing to this overrepresentation, drawing on the literature and on the author’s clinical experience to illustrate the complex pathways that can lead some children and young people with learning disabilities into conflict with the law. The author also details a quality improvement project undertaken in collaboration between a youth justice service and a community learning disability team in the northwest of England. The project showed how a cross-sector partnership can improve awareness and consistency in practices among youth justice service workers, leading to enhanced support for children and young people with learning disabilities in the criminal justice system.