Headway calls on government to invest in brain injury in the criminal justice system

The UK’s independent sentencing review – launched in October 2024 – aimed to address current prison and probation challenges and better support victims. The final report, published in May 2025, has been welcomed by brain injury charity Headway – which is now calling on the government to formally recognise and invest in increasing understanding of brain injury among professionals working within the criminal justice system.

In the final report, the independent sentencing review has set out proposals for reform of the UK’s sentencing framework to ensure that prisons do not become overcrowded, and explores how the current system requires considerable reform to rehabilitate offenders more successfully.

While Headway has welcomed the review, the charity highlights that concerns remain that brain injury remains largely overlooked in both policy and practice.

Chief Executive of brain Headway, Luke Griggs, has said the review provides the “perfect opportunity to finally address the pervasive nature of brain injury within the criminal justice system”.

Research shows that 51 to 60 per cent of adult male prisoners have a history of TBI, and 47 per cent of adult male prisoners screened on admission to prison reported a history of TBI.

However, Headway highlights that there is currently no formal requirement within the justice system to identify or support individuals living with brain injury, placing them at risk of being misunderstood, mismanaged, or unfairly sentenced.

“For too long, the effects of brain injury have not been considered by the criminal justice system despite studies showing that up to 60 per cent of prisoners have a history of traumatic brain injury, with some studies identifying even higher rates among female prisoners,” said Griggs

“When you consider some of the effects of brain injury, such as disinhibition, impulsivity, difficulties processing or retaining information, and many others it is easy to understand how a disproportionately high number of brain injury survivors come into contact with the criminal justice system.

“As the government has acknowledged, sentencing must be about rehabilitation as well as incarceration.

“If we do not address the fundamental link between brain injury and offender behaviour by investing in screening and rehabilitation, we will miss a crucial opportunity to safeguard vulnerable people who are caught in the revolving door of the justice system.”

Headway runs a UK-wide Justice Programme that works with agencies and institutions including prisons, probation teams and police forces to provide training and guidance to help identify and support brain injury survivors so that they can receive support and rehabilitation appropriate to their needs.

It includes structured training programmes for support and operational staff within prison and probation teams.

Chris Marriott, Headway’s Justice Programme manager, said: “The proposed Sentencing Guidelines (Pre-sentence Reports) Bill, which seeks to remove references to specific cohorts in sentencing guidance, risks silencing the very evidence-based prompts that help identify those with hidden vulnerabilities like brain injury.

“While we support moves toward a more individualised approach to sentencing, courts cannot consider what they don’t know.

“Right now, brain injury is going unnoticed far too often – particularly in certain cohorts with a statistical over-representation of brain injury, including young men, and women who have been victims of domestic abuse.

“Brain injury is a clinical condition that directly affects behaviour and decision-making. It is vital that screening is improved to better identify brain injury among vulnerable groups.

“Our message is simple, sentencing must be fair, but it must also be informed. Brain injury is a clinical vulnerability that should never be ignored in the pursuit of justice.”