Jane Winstone

A site visit survey of 101 mental health liaison and diversion schemes in England

This article presents the findings of a unique site visit audit of all known assessment, liaison and diversion schemes in England. The Lord Bradley Review placed great importance upon such teams to be a hub of service provision for individuals with mental health needs who pass through the criminal justice system. This study, undertaken to inform the Lord Bradley Review (2009, www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_098694), demonstrates that although these schemes carry out their core function of undertaking mental health assessments well, their organisational embedding is often poor and their sustainability questionable. Indicators for best practice regarding the shape and operation of these teams are identified and discussed.

Effective Practice in Mental Health Diversion and Liaison

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.