Emily Evans

Effectiveness of current policing-related mental health interventions in England and Wales and Crisis Intervention Teams as a future potential model: a systematic review

BackgroundExperiencing mental ill health adds a layer of complexity for individuals in touch with the justice system and for those responsible for working in the justice service with these individuals, such as frontline police officers.In England and Wales, there are three commonly used but not necessarily commonly designed or operated, mental health interventions associated with policing, Liaison and Diversion, Street Triage and specialist staff embedded in Police Contact Control Rooms. A fourth US designed model, Crisis Intervention Teams (CITs), is now attracting some interest in England and Wales, and these four are to be considered in this review. A fifth intervention, Mental Health Courts, was trialed but has now been abandoned in England and Wales and so has been excluded, but remains in use elsewhere.In recent years, there has been an increase in the level of investment related to these intervention options. This has largely been without an evidence base being available to aid design, structure, and consistency of approach. The review will address this gap and provide a systematic review of each of these options. This will provide a baseline of research evidence for those who commission and provide services for individuals experiencing mental ill health and who are in contact with the justice system.MethodsTwenty-nine relevant databases and sources have been selected which will be systematically searched to locate relevant studies. These studies have to meet the set inclusion criteria which require them to report an objective outcome measure(s) in respect of offending or mental health outcomes and to have an experimental or quasi-experimental design including a comparator group(s) or a pre/post comparison. The review will exclude PhD theses, papers in non-English languages and papers published prior to 1980.Keywords have been collected through canvassing experts’ opinion, literature review, controlled vocabulary and reviewing the results of a primary scoping review carried out to aid the development of the PICO, composed of Population/Participants, Intervention/Indicator, Comparator/Control, and Outcomes. For the proposed review, the key elements of the PICO are the following: persons with mental health problems, symptoms or diagnoses who come into contact with the police; interventions involving partnership working between police and mental health nurses and related professionals to divert those with mental health problems away from criminal justice processes; comparisons with control groups or areas where such interventions have not been introduced; and outcomes concerning criminal justice and health outcomes.The results of the searches will be screened using the set criteria and the selected papers reviewed and analysed to allow findings regarding these interventions to be reported.DiscussionThe objectives of the review are firstly to identify and report research on the relevant interventions, nationally and internationally and then secondly to consider, when possible, which interventions or aspects of those interventions are effective. This is judged with regard to changes in mental health status or service use and future offending behaviour.The approaches to be considered have gained a good deal of support and funding over recent years, and this review will provide a systematic review of the underpinning research evidence to inform future commissioning, service design and investment decisions.

The expected impacts of Transforming Rehabilitation on working relationships with offenders

This article draws on doctoral research undertaken in 2013 to consider the likely impact of the Transforming Rehabilitation changes upon relationships between offenders and probation staff, in the specific context of Integrated Offender Management. Conducted during the initial stages of consultation and roll-out, the research gathered speculative but informed predictions of the impact of Transforming Rehabilitation.

Effectiveness of current policing-related mental health interventions: A systematic review

BACKGROUND There are three commonly used mental health interventions associated with policing: liaison and diversion, street triage and having specialist staff embedded in police contact control rooms. Crisis intervention teams (CITs), already used in the USA, are now attracting wider interest, including in the UK. Investment in these interventions is growing, so it is important to have evidence of their effectiveness. AIM To conduct a systematic literature review to answer questions about effectiveness of police-mental health service models for responding to people with mental disorder and suspected offending or public safety problems. METHODS A population/participant, intervention/indicator, comparator/control, outcome (PICO) framework was developed and keywords used to locate research studies within 29 databases. The 3179 results returned were screened by two researchers against preset inclusion and exclusion criteria. This resulted in 23 studies being included from which were taken the study methodology and findings and on which a narrative synthesis was conducted. RESULTS Twenty-three studies could be included, overall showing a positive impact of the interventions considered, but no well-designed randomised controlled trials to test this optimistic view rigorously. CONCLUSIONS Overall, rather than indicating that one approach is more effective than another, the review points to the need for a multi-faceted approach within a structured and integrated model, such as the CIT model. This is generally not the current pattern of interventions, and policy makers, service commissioners and providers may wish to review future options. Copyright

Domestic burglary drop and the security hypothesis

This study examines the role of household security devices in producing the domestic burglary falls in England and Wales. It extends the study of the security hypothesis as an explanation for the ‘crime drop’. Crime Survey for England and Wales data are analysed from 1992 to 2011/12 via a series of data signatures indicating the nature of, and change in, the relationship between security devices and burglary. The causal role of improved security is strongly indicated by a set of interlocking data signatures: rapid increases in the prevalence of security, particularly in the availability of combinations of the most effective devices (door and window locks plus security lighting); a steep decline in the proportion of households without security accompanied by disproportionate rises in their burglary risk; and the decline being solely in forced rather than unforced entries to households. The study concludes that there is strong evidence that security caused the decline in burglary in England and Wales in the 1990s. Testing the security hypothesis across a wider range of crime types, countries and forms of security than examined to date, is required both to understand the crime drop and to derive lessons for future crime prevention practice and policy.

Police/probation partnerships – the anticipated impact of “transforming rehabilitation”

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to outline findings from research into Integrated Offender Management (IOM), an example of multi-agency working between the police, probation and drug treatment services, and how this is expected to be affected by the “Transforming Rehabilitation” (TR) changes to the probation service being introduced by the Ministry of Justice. Design/methodology/approach – The methodological approach was realistic evaluation. The findings of this paper draw upon semi-structured interviews undertaken with IOM staff, offenders and a small number of national IOM portfolio holders. Observations of the operation of IOM in the local site have also been used. Findings – Three underpinning mechanisms within IOM were uncovered during the research, all of which are at risk from the TR changes. Research limitations/implications – IOM, as it currently operates, will be affected fundamentally by the TR changes, due to the disruption to stable multi-agency working. The research is limited by tak...

Mental health and policing interventions: implementation and impact

Interactions between individuals experiencing mental health (MH) problems and the police are complex and may affect the way in which both parties react to and experience the interactions. The purpose of this paper is to examine three commonly used interventions to improve these interactions.,Mixed methods were used to examine embedded MH professionals in command and control rooms, Liaison and Diversion Teams and Street Triage. The authors also reviewed the use of Section 136 (s136) of the Mental Health Act 1983 (2007) during the period these interventions were deployed.,There was strong support for these interventions but also gaps, resource and operational issues that need to be addressed if they are to have optimal effect on delivering appropriate diversion from the justice system, reduce reoffending and improve MH outcomes for individuals. The use of s136 remained relatively constant.,Despite a recent increase in the level of investment related to these interventions the evidence base remains limited. This study provides baseline of research evidence for those who commission and provide services for individuals experiencing mental ill health and who are in contact with the justice system.

Evaluation of the UK D.A.R.E. Primary programme

Abstract Aims: Results from the first evaluation of the UK Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Primary programme, designed and undertaken by the (independent academic) authors on data collected in late 2015/early 2016 by the UK providers of the programme are presented. The evaluation assessed the programme against its learning outcomes (covering topics including pupils’ ability to communicate and listen, handle relationships and stress, make safe choices, get help from others) as well as their knowledge and use of substances. Methods: Pre- and post- intervention online surveys of pupils aged 9–11 years from a randomly assigned group of state primary schools in the English East Midlands, split between trial and control samples. Responses from 1496 pupils from 51 schools were analysed and modelled via a set of ordinary least squares regression analyses, controlling for pupils’ and schools’ characteristics. Findings: An overall positive change between the pre- and the post-survey was found, with significant differences in the extent of change between trial and control samples regarding four of the programme’s nine learning outcomes (getting help from others, improving communication and listening skills, knowledge about alcohol and drugs, and making safe choices). Conclusions: This evaluation shows this version of D.A.R.E. to be effective regarding four of the programme’s learning outcomes. Further research is needed to measure the programme’s medium and long-term effects and the potential benefits of D.A.R.E. officers and teachers delivering the programme together, identified in this study.