May 14, 2025 at 7:30pm - 8:30pm
Online
In early 2025, the FASD community in Aotearoa was privileged to have a visit from Dr David Junior Gilbert of Salford University, Manchester, UK. Gilbert (as he prefers to be known) has been leading a long-term study focused on investigating the vulnerabilities of individuals with FASD within the criminal justice system (CJS).
In this interview with Anna Gundesen, FASD-CAN's Navigator in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland, Anna and Gilbert discuss why people with FASD are 19 times more likely to encounter the justice system and the executive functioning vulnerabilities that contribute to this. Interrogative suggestibility, acquiescence and compliance are often seen in CJS interviews of those with FASD, and Gilbert highlights the value of caregiver/parent testimonies and of creating protective behaviours to help avoid justice encounters – or mitigate tragic outcomes.
Dr David Junior Gilbert is a University Fellow in the School of Health and Society at Salford University, UK.
He has received multiple awards within and outside the UK for his research/presentation of his research work. His PhD research received the Professor Lindsey Dugdill Memorial Award for Outstanding Doctoral Studies 2023/24. He is a member of the academic network of Her Majesty's Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS), Society for Evidence-Based Policing, Neurodivergence in the Criminal Justice Network, and Salford FASD research group.
Currently, Gilbert is the recipient of a 5-year fellowship leading to tenure, working in collaboration with experts internationally to investigate confabulation, suggestibility, compliance and acquiescence in individuals with FASD. The research is presently recruiting individuals from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Ireland, the US and UK.
If you are the caregivers or parents of a young person with FASD who has been involved with the CJS and would like to contribute to this research, click here.
