Sharing power in criminal justice: The potential of co‐production for offenders experiencing mental health and addictions in New Zealand

Abstract

Co-production has begun to make inroads into research, policy, and practice in mental health and addictions. Little is known, however, about the role co-production has or could have in shaping how the criminal justice system responds to mental health and addictions. Given that a large majority of prisoners in Aotearoa New Zealand have been diagnosed with either a mental health or substance use disorder within their lifetime, it is imperative alternative approaches are considered if we are to reduce the high imprisonment rates and contribute positively to health, safety, and well-being of all New Zealanders. In this study, we explore how co-production has been conceptualized and used in criminal justice systems internationally, and offer an experiential account of our first steps into co-production both in service delivery and research. We conclude by proposing a way forward to expand partnerships between those who have experience-based expertise and researchers within the criminal justice context, offering a small- and large-scale project as potential examples of what co-production may look like in this space.

A systematic scoping review exploring how people with lived experience have been involved in prison and forensic mental health research

“…Such literature may provide further information as to how people with lived experience are involved in prison and forensic mental health research and we would recommend that future reviews explore this. We are aware of reflective articles published in academic journals about the experience of collaborative research (Awenat et al., 2018; Haarmans et al., 2020; Hemming et al., 2021; Thom & Burnside, 2018) which were also excluded from this review. It will be important for future reviews to synthesise what is currently known about how academics, practitioners and people with lived experience find collaborating on prison and forensic mental health research, as well as the factors that affect their experience.…”

Contextualising co-production and complex needs: Understanding the engagement of service users with severe and multiple disadvantages

“…Thom and Burnside’s (2018) review of power sharing through co-production in New Zealand’s criminal justice system illustrates this point. The qualitative study focused on examining offenders’ understanding and actualisation of co-production and found co-production was often seen as a tick-box exercise where the power structures of the prison would never truly allow for co-production within the overwhelming ethos of control and punishment.…”

“…Rather than being considered as valuable assets in an approach that encourages dispersed agency over hierarchical structures, the review found that service users continue to experience a ‘provider knows best’ approach with attempts to engage service users restricted by organisational structure, culture and poor staff buy-in. This results in a tokenistic and paternalistic adoption of co-production principles and a model that remains provider-driven rather than user-led (Thom and Burnside, 2018; Park, 2020).…”

“…Added to thiswithin public services in the social care fieldthere is a dominant tradition prioritising service providers as responsible for and accountable to the needs and demands of their communities (Park, 2020). The model has remained provider-driven across many disciplines, with mental health care models in particular criticised for being service-led rather than service-user-led (Thom and Burnside, 2018;Park, 2020). Reviews of the empirical evidence have observed that the term co-production is often absent, with a stronger focus on peer support initiatives (Slay and Stephens, 2013) or on approaches that adopt a paternalistic approach to service user involvement (Bradley, 2015).…”

He Ture Kia Tika/Let the Law Be Right: informing evidence-based policy through kaupapa Māori and co-production of lived experience

“…Co-production is commonly known to be used in a tokenistic manner, considered an abstract concept, and pays little attention to issues of intersectionality (Humphreys and Grayson, 2008;Roper et al, 2018;Rose and Kalathil, 2019). Writings on co-production can be less clear about the micro detail of how to do co-production in a way that is continually attuned to power imbalances and diversity of worldviews (Thom and Burnside, 2018). We were certain that to get the most out of our He Ture Kia Tika project, we required deep reflection and discussion about who we are, what we are aiming to do, and how we could do this together, that respects the safety of our co-design group and our participants.…”