Mental health and the criminal justice system: The role of interagency training to promote practitioner understanding of the diversion agenda

Abstract

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.

Structures, processes and outcomes of health care for people detained in short-term police custody settings: A scoping review

“…Some authors have identified that the development of resources and tools by means of diversion services that are geared towards moving those with a mental illness away from the criminal justice system are beneficial [21,52]. As a relatively new intervention, diversion services have reported benefits such as support for officers in dealing with instances of detainee mental illness [53] and appropriate allocation of mental health services [54]. However the diversion of those with mental illness depends on accurate and systematic identification, and includes a number of pathways inclusive of varied legislative approaches and service models [55].…”

‘Enhanced Support for High Intensity Users of the Criminal Justice System’: An Evaluation of Mental Health Nurse Input into Integrated Offender Management Services in the North East of England

“…The challenges facing the NE IOM-MH service are not new. In particular, the issue around wider mental health service cooperation ‒ the ‘diversion to what?’ question ‒ has been well documented, but is yet to be resolved (James, 2010; Dyer, 2012; Scott et al ., 2013; Fengea et al ., 2014). Despite these challenges, overall findings described a very positive picture.…”

Mirrors of Prison Life—From Compartmentalised Practice Towards Boundary Crossing Expertise

“…However, the complexity and unpredictability of interagency collaboration and knowledge management create a need to shed light on the challenges faced by the professionals working with inmates with mental health problems. As a consequence, calls for more effective models of collaboration have been made (Fenge et al, 2014;Hean et al, 2017).…”