Police Prosecution and Access to Justice for People with Disabilities

In Australia, recent reports have documented the disproportionate levels of violence and abuse experienced by people with disabilities, in conjunction with multiple barriers preventing people with disabilities from accessing systems of justice. The reports pay little attention to the role that police and prosecutors could and should play in improving access to justice. This article considers the role of police and prosecutors in light of the obligations contained in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), arguing for the active accommodation of disability in police and prosecution practices, including in the way police and prosecutors respond to people with cognitive impairment who present as both victims and offenders with complex needs. The interrogation of current debates from a human rights perspective reveals underlying contradictions in the way different stakeholders perceive the role of police and prosecutors, pointing to the need for further theoretical and practical interrogation of prosecution work