Diversion of mentally disordered people from the criminal justice system in England and Wales: An overview (original) (raw)
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Diversion of Offenders with Mental Disorders: Mental Health Courts
Web Journal of Current Legal Issues, 2012
At present, if people with mental disorders appear before the criminal courts in Ireland, unless they are unfit for trial or not guilty by reason of insanity, the system governing their case will be the general one which applies to all criminal cases. In recent decades, a number of other common law jurisdictions have begun to set up mental health courts as a means of diverting some people with mental disorders from the criminal justice system and into more appropriate treatment. This article begins with a review of the background to mental health courts, focusing on the concept of diversion from the criminal justice system and the role of Therapeutic Jurisprudence theory as an inspiration for the establishment of mental health courts. The main features of mental health courts are identified and the features of those in existence in the United States are contrasted with those in Canada and England and Wales. Some of the main arguments against the use of these courts will be discussed, including the contentions that defendants' participation may not be truly voluntary and that their due process rights are not adequately protected. The question of whether a mental health court should be established in Ireland is considered.
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 2014
Historically there has been a significant under-recognition of mental health problems amongst people in the criminal justice system, and little research exploring the issues encountered by those with mental health problems who come into contact with the criminal justice system. Recent policy has highlighted the importance of early identification of mental health needs in criminal cases, and the role of diversion of offenders into appropriate mental health services. However research suggests that currently the provision of mental health services for offenders is patchy, and it has been suggested that improved interagency communication and training is required to improve the diversion of offenders with mental health problems into more appropriate mental health provision. The aim of this paper is to consider the current position of those with mental health conditions within the criminal justice system in England, and discuss how joint interagency training can improve understanding of the diversion agenda for the range of practitioners that come into contact with offenders with mental health problems. The perspectives of a range of practitioners who attended a joint interagency training day will be discussed, and recommendations for future training will be offered.
Mental Health and Criminal Charges: Variation in Diversion Pathways in Australia
Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 2017
Mental health and criminal justice legislation must provide the appropriate mechanisms for ensuring the assessment and care of mentally ill individuals. It must also balance the right to justice of these individuals with the rights of the community. In Australia, each jurisdiction has its own legislative provisions related to mental health, criminal legislation and sentencing, with variation in the mental health diversion options that are available. This article uses a national survey of court liaison services and mental health courts in Australia and a review of the relevant legislative frameworks to compare jurisdictional approaches to mental health diversion. Despite calls from the National Mental Health Commission for consistency, the Australian approach to the provision of mental health services to people in the criminal justice system is heterogeneous and piecemeal. Variation in the diversion pathways available to individuals with mental illness exists across Australia. The presence of problem-solving courts in some, but not all, jurisdictions results in differences in access to legal and treatment options.
Medicine, Science and the Law, 1999
The aim of this study was to investigate offenders' living patterns, quality of life, types of aftercare received and psychological well-being, following their diversion from one court diversion scheme in England. Sixty-five offenders were followed up after six months, 22 of whom were also followed up after one year. Their transient living patterns throughout these two periods were described. Their quality of life was found to be poor in that most did not have an occupation, nor did they receive education, and the life experiences during both periods were lower than that of standardized urban samples. There were no significant changes in their poor life experiences over the two periods. Over 55% of the 22 offenders still contacted their GPs regularly but there was a significant drop in those consulting hospital doctors. Only a small number of offenders had contact with the social services in these two periods and no significant differences were found between them. Their GHQ tota...
Variations in prison mental health services in England and Wales
International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 2013
This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues.
Mental Health Diversion Courts: Some Directions for Further Development
Psychiatry, Psychology and Law, 2013
Recent years have seen a growth in the number of specialist courts operating in Australia, including those which aim to address the needs of mentally disordered offenders. This article describes some of the key characteristics of mental health courts, using case studies from the most established court in Australia, the South Australian Magistrates Court Diversion Program (MCDP). This is followed by a consideration of some factors that may affect the future development of this type of program. It is concluded that there is a need to pay careful attention to issues of risk assessment and risk management if the dual goals of improving both the health of individual and the safety of the community are to be realised.
Effective Practice in Mental Health Diversion and Liaison
The Howard Journal of Criminal Justice, 2009
Abstract: Many criminal justice mental health diversion and liaison teams are under threat of extinction. Nacro (2005) notes a steady decline in their number, despite the fact that these schemes in principle provide a valuable service and can fit any social inclusion or crime preventative agenda. In order for such teams and schemes to thrive they need to be strengthened urgently, a point concurred with by Jack Straw when he asked Lord Bradley to undertake a review into mental health diversion as a means of reducing the prison population. But before these schemes can thrive they must survive. We, therefore, argue that research into their sustainability is required and here we introduce a tool we developed (MHEP-AC) that is now in use for that purpose.
A Path Not Taken? Mentally Disordered Offenders and the Criminal Justice System
Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 2007
The long stated aim of Government policy has been to divert mentally disordered offenders from the Criminal Justice system to services where their mental health needs can be adequately addressed. An examination of the rates of mental disorder amongst those appearing before the Courts and in the prison population shows that this policy is not achieving its stated aims. This article considers two elements of possible Police and social work involvement to examine the cultural shifts that are required to make this policy more effective.
Behavioral sciences & the law, 2017
Given fragmentation between mental health and criminal justice systems, we tested the feasibility of implementing a potential new form of pre-booking jail diversion. Our "linkage system" consists of three steps: (i) individuals with serious mental illnesses and an arrest history give special consent to be enrolled in a statewide database; (ii) if an officer has an encounter with an enrolled patient and runs a routine background check, he or she receives an electronic message to call; and (iii) the "linkage specialist" provides brief telephonic assistance to the officer. Of 206 eligible individuals, 199 (96.6%) opted in, the database received 679 hits, and the linkage specialist received 31 calls (and in at least three cases an arrest was probably averted). The mean number of arrests was 0.59 ± 0.92 in the year before enrollment (38.7% arrested) and 0.48 ± 0.83 during the 12-month intervention (30.7% arrested). Implementation is feasible, and a signal that the sys...