Search results for ‘Subject term:"mentally disordered offenders"’ Sort:
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What else can we do? New initiatives in diversion from custody
- Authors:
- STAITE Catherine, MARTIN Neill
- Journal article citation:
- Justice of the Peace and Local Government Law, 1.5.93, 1993, pp.280-281.
- Publisher:
- Justice of the Peace Ltd
Reports on the establishment of a multidisciplinary team in North Humberside which aimed to offer an alternative to custody for mentally disordered offenders.
Courting favour
- Author:
- GILLEN Sally
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health Today, June 2010, pp.10-11.
- Publisher:
- Pavilion
- Place of publication:
- Hove
This article describes two projects that have been trying to steer mentally ill offenders away from prison. Since January 2009, two magistrates’ courts (one in Stratford, east London, the other in Brighton, Sussex) have been piloting mental health courts. As part of this programme, a mental health practitioner screens those arriving from police custody and prison, and, where necessary, carries out an assessment. Information from this assessment is taken into account by the magistrate when deciding how to deal with each case. If a person is identified as having mental health problems, community treatment is sought, rather than a custodial sentence. For those that are imprisoned, the assessment arrives with them to ensure their particular needs or risks are identified from the outset. The author concludes that, aside from the compelling moral argument for diverting people with mental health problems away from prison into community services, there are economic benefits too – figures suggest that a custodial sentence costs £13,125 on average, compared to a community order costing £1,500 to £4,000.
The Bradley Report and its implications for dual diagnosis
- Author:
- HUGHES Liz
- Journal article citation:
- Advances in Dual Diagnosis, 2(3), September 2009, pp.32-35.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
In 2009 the report by Lord Bradley was published, reviewing the experiences of those with mental health and learning disabilities in the criminal justice system. The Bradley Report makes 92 recommendations, of which the most significant is the creation of criminal justice mental health teams. This article considers the Bradley Report and specifically its implications for dual diagnosis. This includes implications for dual diagnosis services, drug courts and mental health courts, role of liaison and diversion, and continuity of care on release. The article concludes that it is positive that dual diagnosis is acknowledged throughout the Bradley Report as a significant issue, but disappointing that there are no detailed recommendations to provide operational guidance within the current criminal justice system. The author suggests that there is need for senior leads in the criminal justice system to make the service changes that are required.
Reformulating fitness to plead: a qualitative study
- Authors:
- ROGERS Timothy P., et al
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (The), 20(6), December 2009, pp.815-834.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
A significant number of mentally ill defendants pass through the courts, where clinicians advise upon their ability to fairly stand trial. This is codified in the assessment of 'fitness to plead'. In England and Wales, the narrow 'Pritchard' criteria that determine fitness date from 1836. The authors undertook a piece of qualitative research with the aim of determining whether the 'Pritchard' test remains fit for purpose. A semi-structured interview was devised to study the experiences of senior criminal barristers. Framework analysis was adopted in order to identify relevant themes within the data. Five key themes emerged, helping to define the true construct of 'fitness' and illustrating serious procedural problems with the current approach. A range of practical solutions emerged. It was clear from the results that formal findings of unfitness are extremely rare. Many mentally ill defendants are missed or stand trial unfairly. The Pritchard criteria do not protect their best interests. A possible reformulation of the approach to assessing fitness is presented for discussion.
What do social workers need to know about mental health courts?
- Authors:
- HODGES John Q., ANDERSON Kim M.
- Journal article citation:
- Social Work in Mental Health, 4(2), 2005, pp.17-30.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
Mental health courts are an emerging strategy to engage mentally ill offenders in treatment and to avoid unnecessary incarceration in the United States. These courts began in 1997 based upon the drug court model; there are currently over 70 courts nationwide. These courts are heterogeneous in structure, work with interdisciplinary teams, and seek to engage the consumer in treatment rather than use judicial sanctions. Social workers are integral members of these teams; yet, no research has been published in social work journals on mental health courts. This article explains the background and context of the courts, describes their features, discusses what social workers need to know about mental health courts, and concludes with ideas for how social workers may work effectively with mental health courts. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
A psychiatric liaison service for the criminal courts
- Author:
- WICKHAM Tania
- Publisher:
- University of East Anglia
- Publication year:
- 1994
- Pagination:
- 46p.
- Place of publication:
- Norwich
Discusses and evaluates the results of a psychiatric court liaison scheme at Reading and Sonning Magistrates' Court, set up with the aim of diverting mentally ill offenders from inappropriate custodial sentences.
Mentally disordered offenders: a joint inspection on work prior to sentence with offenders with mental disorders
- Authors:
- HM INSPECTORATE OF PROBATION, et al
- Publisher:
- HM Inspectorate of Probation
- Publication year:
- 2009
- Pagination:
- 56p.
- Place of publication:
- Manchester
This inspection focused on cases involving offenders who have been identified prior to sentence as having a mental disorder, and how these cases have been handled in practice. The inspectors found that neither criminal justice nor health professionals were in favour of diverting an increased number of offenders from prosecution. Most felt that the majority should take responsibility for their actions, and that treatment should be combined with rather than instead of court action. However, in the minority of cases who were suitable for diversion, there did appear to be scope for greater efficiency by diverting these earlier in the process, before they got to the court stage. Most of the areas visited would also benefit from a better quality and more timely psychiatric report service once at the court stage. More generally, it was clear that treatment did help some current offenders to stop offending, so sustained access to treatment continues to be very important.
The jury's out
- Author:
- SALE Anabel Unity
- Journal article citation:
- Community Care, 6.9.07, 2007, pp.14-16.
- Publisher:
- Reed Business Information
Specialist courts have sprung up across the country to deal with domestic violence cases, young offenders, substance misusers and people with mental health issues. The author discusses the evidence on whether they actually work.
One year of court referrals to Tayside Area Forensic Psychiatry Service: a retrospective audit
- Authors:
- MACCALL Callum A., WHITE Thomas, SMITH Helen
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Forensic Psychiatry and Psychology (The), 16(3), September 2005, pp.592-599.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
This study seeks to describe the demographic details, offence details, and psychiatric details and outcomes of individuals referred for court reports to the Tayside Area Forensic Psychiatry Service between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2001. Information was extracted by a review of the psychiatric case notes of individuals referred during this period. In all, 232 referrals were received on 172 individuals; 58% of those seen received an Axis I diagnosis while 39% were felt to require inpatient psychiatric treatment. Twelve individuals were considered by the assessing psychiatrist to be unfit to plead and eight were insane at the time of the alleged index offence. One was considered to meet the criteria for diminished responsibility on grounds of mental disorder. A clinically inappropriate placement occurred in nearly 10% of cases, most commonly related to insufficient availability of forensic admission beds. These findings are discussed in the context of the need for expansion of Scottish forensic services to include medium secure units, in line with similar services in England and Wales.
Mentally disturbed offenders: diversion from custody/prosecution; report of the Mental Health Foundation Scotland's national conference
- Editor:
- BRYCE Isabel
- Publisher:
- Mental Health Foundation Scotland
- Publication year:
- 1995
- Pagination:
- 48p.,bibliogs.
- Place of publication:
- Glasgow
Includes papers on: diversion for psychologically disturbed offenders; the role of the police; the role of the procurator fiscal; the role of the courts; the role of social work; the prevalence of mental illness in the prison population; and the role of health services.