Nov28Written by:Editor
28/11/2011 
A report by a new campaigning coalition of health and justice groups says that up to two thirds of young offenders in prison could have an acquired brain injury.
Professor Nick Alderman, Consultant Clinical Neuropsychologist at the National Brain Injury Centre at St Andrew's Healthcare in Northampton says. “This report highlights how widespread acquired brain injuries are amongst young people and how serious the consequences can be for individuals and the wider community if symptoms aren’t recognised.
“An acquired brain injury can lead to impulsiveness, challenging behaviour, or a lack of awareness of the consequences of actions. Any of these symptoms could lead a young person into offending behaviour; early action can mean that this is avoided.
“From our experience in the National Brain Injury Centre and in our Adolescent Service we know that early recognition and appropriate care for a young person with an acquired brain injury can make a great difference to their rehabilitation and longer-term outcomes. Based on this have opened a unit called Elgar which is dedicated specifically to the needs of young people with an acquired brain injury and challenging behaviour.”
Elgar’s Ward Manager, Deveshwar Muniah, says: “Having seen both sides of the coin - acquired brain injury and youth offending - there appears to be a gap in the system. This new group is planning to bridge that gap through awareness campaigns and training so that better outcomes can be achieved earlier.
“At Elgar we aim to intervene as soon as possible so that we can make a positive change to the life-time trajectories of those young people.“Further research in needed to find out how many young people who have served several sentences and keep going back to prison have an acquired brain injury. Specialist input is required to make a significant difference in their lives and for wider society, the NHS and the criminal justice system.”
Statistics show that perhaps as many as a million people every year might suffer a brain injury that affects their behaviour and personality, half of them being young people, but it is often undiagnosed.
New research by the University of Exeter among young offenders in this country supports the findings of other international studies. It found that up to 60% of young offenders between 11 and 19 had apparently suffered from a previous traumatic brain injury. Nearly half have suffered a loss of consciousness, which can be linked to cognitive or behaviour problems.
This research inspired the new campaign group, which includes the Howard League for Penal Reform, the Youth Justice Board and the Prison Reform Trust. They have been brought together by the Child Brain Injury Trust (CBIT), which is a leading charity working in the field.
Called the Criminal Justice and Acquired Brain Injury Interest Group, it will campaign for greater awareness of ABI among politicians, health, education and criminal justice professionals. It will also support better training and work towards raising awareness and providing support for offenders suffering acquired brain injury.