Advertorial: Screenings and identifying undiagnosed ADHD in the criminal justice system

Charity ADHD Liberty initiated ADHD screenings in police stations within the UK.

An ADHD screening pilot in custody, first rolled out with City of London Police, is now being implemented by other forces across the country including Greater Manchester Police, Cumbria and Police Scotland.

The first pilot, with City of London since May 2023, is currently showing that up to 66% of people going into a police station had undiagnosed ADHD – it’s a figure that does not include those who had already been diagnosed.

Charity ADHD worked alongside Met Detective Constable Daley Jones to develop the pilot – the purpose of which was to develop an evidence base as to why such a measure should be funded in the future.

The charity is passionate about mandatory screening throughout the whole criminal justice system, and is also working with several Youth Offending Services and Probations.

Sarah Templeton is CEO of the charity, diagnosed ADHD herself, and also an author who writes books helping parents and teachers keep ADHD children and adolescents away from the criminal justice system.

ADHD Liberty is running a webinar on March 28 from 7pm to 9.30pm alongside Met DC Jones and City of London Inspector Rachel Bullimore.

The webinar is open to anybody but has a specific focus on how individuals can help identify undiagnosed ADHD in the criminal justice system.

Participants will hear about the most common offences among ADHD adolescents and young adults, which ADHD traits can lead to offending and the types of sentences they receive.

There will also be an option to ask questions.

ADHD Liberty is passionate about mandatory screening throughout the whole criminal justice system, and is also working with several Youth Offending Services and Probations.

Daley and Rachel are both trustees – they are also both diagnosed with ADHD and realise that so many of the people that they are coming into contact with are ADHD as well.

Sarah was a Prison Counsellor working in HMP The Mount, HMPYOI Aylesbury, HMPYOI Portland and HMP Guys Marsh.

Sarah said: “I was diagnosed with ADHD aged 51, which came completely out of the blue with nobody ever having suggested I might have the condition before. At the time I was counselling boys in HMPYOI Portland and suddenly realised why I had instant rapport so with all of them. I had the same brain!

“Some of these boys and men had been diagnosed with ADHD as children but were not on medication hence they had been offending. But the vast majority did not know they had ADHD at all. They knew they thought differently and struggled with hyperactivity and impulsivity, but they didn’t know this was because they had undiagnosed ADHD”.

Since she left the prison service in 2016, Sarah has campaigned passionately for ADHD to be screened for in prisons and all other areas of the criminal system.  She runs the biggest team of ADHD diagnosed counsellors in the country, Headstuff ADHD Therapy and spends most of her time now helping client parents whose ADHD teenagers have run into trouble due to their undiagnosed ADHD. Sarah’s team compile detailed reports on how this has impacted their criminal activity and Sarah represents clients in court as an ADHD Expert Witness.

The charity has been approached from Ministry of Justices in several other countries, who don’t believe that ADHD screening is happening in their police stations either and are keen to learn how we in the UK are leading the way when it comes to identifying this extremely common mental health condition which is so prevalent amongst offenders.

Sarah explained: “There are so many traits that lead ADHD boys and girls down the wrong path from quite an early age – often when puberty begins as ADHD is a condition related to the hormone dopamine.

“Traits that come with ADHD include risktaking, thrillseeking, pushing boundaries, not liking authority, disliking being told what to do and wanting everything our own way. The ADHD brain does not naturally think of the consequence of anything, and we also act impulsively. So it’s not unusual for ADHD teenagers to be getting into trouble for fighting, stealing cars, being rude to Police Officers, affray and criminal damage and before long this can move onto more serious crime as they get older”.

ADHD Liberty welcomes you to contact them if you are working in the criminal justice system or in youth services, addiction services, homeless services, or anywhere else where you believe ADHD may be prevalent.  They will happily help you set up ADHD screening trials and anybody interested in running a pilot is extremely welcome to get in touch with Sarah at sarah@adhdliberty.org.

Ticket price is £10 with an optional £5 discount for those working in the Criminal Justice System. All profits go back into registered charity ADHD Liberty.

You can find out more here https://adhdinthecjs.eventbrite.co.uk

Category: Advertorial

Tags: ADHDNeurodiversity