Exploring the lived experiences of autistic prisoners in UK prisons

Autistic people are no more likely to engage in crime than the general population, and are, in fact, more likely to be the victims of crimes than perpetrators. However, for the minority of autistic individuals who do perpetrate crime, they can face unique challenges on their journeys through the criminal justice system, compared to neurotypical peers.

Until recently, limited research had explored the prison experiences of autistic prisoners and how to effectively support and manage those individuals. Therefore, informed by the first-hand perspectives of both autistic prisoners and prison staff who work with them, this talk will explore autistic individuals’ experiences of prison, and how prison may be experienced differently by autistic prisoners compared neurotypical prisoners. Informed by thematic analyses of interviews with autistic individuals in prison, and illustrated by direct quotes from both autistic prisoners and prison staff working with them; this talk will include discussions of some of the common challenges faced by autistic individuals living in a prison environment, as well as elements of prison life that have been found to be supportive for those individuals. The talk will also explore the challenges that prison staff themselves can encounter when working with autistic prisoners. The talk will conclude with the implications that these issues can have for prison-based support, rehabilitation and hopes for the future.

Guest Speaker

Dr Vinter is a Senior Lecturer in Applied Criminology and a Chartered Psychologist (CPsychol) with the British Psychological Society. His main research area is applied forensic psychology using predominantly applied qualitative, prison-based research. Dr Vinter is also currently involved with projects relating to the qualitative evaluation of prison-based offending behaviour programmes.
His specific research interests include:

• Autism, offending and the criminal justice system
• Lived experiences of/supporting vulnerable prisoner groups
• Neurodiversity in the criminal justice system
• Interventions to address offending behaviour
• Participatory research