Law Society welcomes Criminal Justice Disability report

The Law Society of Scotland has welcomed publication of the final report of the Criminal Justice Disability Project.

The project brought together organisations from across the justice sector to consider concerns issues raised in the reports Hidden in Plain Sight, Out in the Open, and the Justice Steering Group report 2009, and examine how these could be implemented across criminal justice organisations.

With 76 recommendations to promote and enable accessibility of service across the criminal justice sector in Scotland for people with disabilities, many of which have been implemented, the Criminal Justice Disability Project: Final Report published today, Tuesday, 31 July, marks the conclusion of a landmark equality project.

Alison Atack, President of the Law Society, said, “Our justice system must be accessible to everyone in Scotland, and a project that looks to improve the experience of people with disabilities in the criminal justice system helps to achieve this crucial goal.

“Across the wide range of recommendations, tangible outcomes have already been delivered in areas such as awareness of hate crime, identifying premises’ physical barriers to access, improving the language and accessibility of correspondence and other materials, juror participation, training and sharing of best practice across the criminal justice system.”

“As our justice system uses technology to a greater degree in the years ahead, there will be a range of new opportunities to improve accessibility. The collaborative approach taken by this project will provide an excellent foundation for this continuing work.

Criminal Justice Disability Project final report (WORD)

Criminal Justice Disability Project final report (PDF)

A BSL video providing an overview of the report is also available to watch