Autistic man in prison

[CFSKate]

"He is not imprisoned because he poses a risk to society, but because the authorities have not been able to facilitate a move into social care."

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-11067353/Adam-30-spent-half-locked-no-conviction-crime-autistic.html

Is this accurate? It sounds horrific.

Well he's not in prison but otherwise I know nothing about this man. It says he is sectioned and regularly has his detention approved. Doesn't seem to explore how he came to be held or whether it would be appropriate for a release care package to be put in place. Sadly social care is hideously underfunded so there are parts that could well be true but DM will focus on sensationalising what could be a genuine story.

He’s not an autistic man, he’s a man with autism.

@KangarooKenny most autistic people (and a lot of those with other disabilities) prefer identity first language - autistic person, disabled person, because it’s a part of who they are.

Ah yes.

The daily mail who pilloried care services for attempting to care for Jonty Bravery in the community despite his risky profile. He went on to throw a young child from the Tate.

the gentleman in the article is absolutely in the wrong place, but in reality there are very few services filling the gap between secure hospitals and him being cared for by people with basic training in LD and Autism on minimum wage in a terraced house next door to you.

those services that do exist are oversubscribed, extremely expensive and few and far between.

Post 'Winterbourne' local authorities and NHS services are supposed to have developed such services and moved people out of secure hospitals where possible. That has happened in many cases but the quality of the care isn't great and has led to some really poor outcomes for people. For the really risky people it still hasn't happened because it's just not safe in the current social care climate.

It is an absolute disgrace. It does not surprise me at all.

I'm an autistic and describe myself as such. Nothing wrong with autistic man imo @KangarooKenny

As another poster has said, Rampton is not a prison but a high secure hospital. This means people placed there have been assessed as a severe risk to others. Usually people without a criminal conviction will have started out in a lower secure service but if their behaviour becomes unmanageable they progress through the system, until ending up in a high secure hospital such as this.
This article is very light on the reasons this man has been placed under high security (and rightly so, the public have no right to know). I have worked in low and medium secure services and have colleagues that work in high secure services. The sectioning of people with LD and neuro developmental disorders is a topic of regular review and discussion, but the sad reality is that there are very few placements equipped to care for higher risk people in the community. Staff at these placements are often not trained to support people with complex needs, and getting a placement to accept someone who’s behaviour has meant they have been cared for in a high secure environment is a nightmare.
Reading this article makes me so sad, but the truth will be far more complicated than the article makes out. I have known people with similar stories and they often do manage much better in the community, but the hoops to jump through to get them the support needed are many, and getting a placement to accept someone who has been potentially violent (kept in seclusion means very high risk to self or others) is near impossible.

In full agreement with @SafeguardingSocialWorker