A path not taken? Mentally disordered offenders and the criminal justice system

Cummins, ID

Abstract

The long stated aim of UK Government policy has been to divert mentally disordered
offenders from the Criminal Justice system to services where their mental health needs
can be adequately addressed. An examination of the rates of mental disorder amongst
those appearing before the Courts and in the prison population shows that this policy is
not achieving its stated aims. This article considers two elements of possible police and
social work involvement to examine the cultural shifts that are required to make this
policy more effective.

Citation

Cummins, I. A path not taken? Mentally disordered offenders and the criminal justice system. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 28(3), 267-281. https://doi.org/10.1080/09649060601119466

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Deposit Date: Jun 29, 2009
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 29, 2009
• Journal: Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law
• Print ISSN: 0964-9069
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 28
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 267-281
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09649060601119466
• Keywords: Family, child & social welfare law, social work, welfare, mentally disordered offenders, diversion, appropriate adult
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09649060601119466
• Related Public URLs: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/09649069.asp; http://www.routledge.com/