‘Osaka Model’ for aiding disabled lawbreakers reaches crossroads

From Jiji via The Japan Times

September 17 2023

OSAKA – Over the past decade, the Osaka Bar Association has been working closely with the local social welfare association to prevent repeat offenses by people with disabilities who have committed crimes.

Under the system, welfare and other workers assist in defense lawyers’ activities in the investigation and court hearing stages and propose rehabilitation support plans suitable for the defendants in terms of their disabilities and characteristics.

The system, dubbed the “Osaka Model,” has achieved some results, but seems to have reached a turning point as it faces challenges to secure welfare and other personnel.

According to Justice Ministry statistics, about 20% of the inmates who ended up in prisons and other correctional facilities nationwide in 2021 were suspected of having intellectual disabilities. There were also inmates suffering other types of mental disabilities. Many of them were serving time in prison for inflicting injury, assault or theft.

As some people with disabilities may not be able to assert themselves well in interrogations and court hearings, they can be easily misunderstood and may be accused falsely. Even if they are reintegrated into society, many commit crimes again without receiving appropriate welfare services.

These problems have been recognized widely since the 2000s, with the central government promoting an “exit support” program in which community life settlement support centers in prefectures work with probation offices and other related groups to support the social reintegration of inmates.

In line with this effort, the Osaka Bar Association introduced the Osaka Model in June 2014 to provide “entrance support” after arrests in cooperation with the Osaka Association of Certified Social Workers and the prefectural settlement support center.

Under the arrangement, lawyers who are appointed to the defense of suspects and defendants can request support from social welfare workers and counselors at the settlement support center through the bar association. Such social workers and counselors accompany lawyers to meet with suspects and defendants and draw up rehabilitation support plans for their reintegration into society.

The rehab support plans play a key role in the defense of the accused in court hearings. “Properly drawn up plans can impress judges and sometimes lead to a lighter ruling,” Masao Nakai, a lawyer with the Osaka Bar Association, said.

This year marks the 10th year of the Osaka Model. Lawyers representing disabled people feel the effects of the system in reduced workloads in their defense activities, but the burdens on social welfare workers are heavy.

Personnel at social welfare associations assisted in the system as volunteers without any compensation, while those at settlement support centers became increasingly busy. As a result, the number of cases in which the support system was used decreased to 13 in fiscal 2022, down from 30 to 50 annually in previous years.

In response, the Osaka Bar Association has started efforts to secure social welfare-related people on its own.

In 2020, together with the settlement support center, the bar association started training for “rehabilitation support coordinators” who draw up rehab support plans. More than 20 people, including social welfare workers and certified social insurance labor consultants, have been registered.

With the training program in trial operations, the association hopes that as the personnel gain experience, the number of disabled perpetrators who they can support will increase.

There are still major challenges to be overcome, however, as rewards for the coordinators’ activities are insufficient and they are paid only after being screened by the bar association.

Shinnosuke Araki, a lawyer at the Osaka Bar Association who helps criminals with disabilities, is calling for public support. “In the future, we want a system for the government to pay the costs,” he said.