A project to assist users of the criminal justice system with an acquired brain injury (ABI) has been set up in Victoria.
Listen: Peggy Giakoumelos speaks with Julie Edwards.
Jesuit Services Australia, who will be running the Enabling Justice Project with RMIT University, said one study by Corrections Victoria showed about 42 per cent of men and 33 per cent of women in prison had a confirmed ABI.
That's compared to about 2.2 per cent of the general Australian population.
The CEO of Jesuit Social Services Julie Edwards said many people entering the justice system were not identified as having a brain injury until they entered the system.
"We've got an increasing prison population and a drive to incarcerate more and more people," she said.
"At the same time, we have a vulnerable group whose ABI has perhaps never been picked up, but who perhaps had an early life injury or through their substance abuse or some other reason, after birth acquired a brain injury and it's not always known that this person has that."
Ms Edwards said people with an ABI can struggle with poor memory, reduced concentration, poor problem solving skills and at times poor impulse control.
She said this can often lead to people getting into further trouble in prison.
"That doesn't work well in a system like say prison where you really need to be able to keep your head down and following orders," she said.
"So they're vulnerable to getting into more trouble."
The Enabling Justice Project will allow people living with an ABI who have been through the criminal justice system, their family members and carers to share their experiences with researchers.
This will be done through regular meetings allowing those involved to promote changes to the system making it more responsive to the experiences of people living with ABI.
