Mental health and criminal justice: bridging two worlds
The Journal of Forensic Practice
ISSN: 2050-8794
Article publication date: 27 July 2022
Issue publication date: 27 October 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to describe programs that aim at programs to divert people with a mental condition from the criminal justice system to mental health services are being initiated, but reporting is limited and fragmented. This study described programs that aim at diverting persons with mental health conditions out of criminal justice systems to community mental health services, with the intention to inform research and practice.
Design/methodology/approach
A scoping review was used to map and synthesise diversion programs. Ten online data bases were searched. Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews was used to direct the selection of sources. Research and evaluation publications and grey literature published from 2010 to 2021 in English language were included.
Findings
Eight distinct diversion programs were identified across 24 countries or territories covering five phases of the criminal justice process. Diversion programs included crisis intervention teams, the electronic linkage system, mobile crisis units, the criminal justice liaison program, problem-solving courts, the abstinence-based program, the community equivalence program and the forensic assertive community treatment program. Although distinct programs have the potential to form a system of diversion across the continuum of the criminal justice process, only two territories moved in that direction. Diversion programs reported overwhelmingly originated from high-income countries.
Practical implications
Stigma that labels people with mental health conditions as violent and dangerous need to be addressed. It is important to place diversion systems on national policy agendas and advocate for evidence-based interventions.
Originality/value
The study provides a blueprint on diversion systems to set a research agenda and develop a road map, tailored towards local contexts.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Research reported in this publication was supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross, Bangkok Delegation, Thailand under award number BAN 20/02096 dated 8 January 2021.
The authors wish to express their gratitude to Dr Rodger Doran, Faculty of Public Health, Thammasat University, Thailand, for his contributions in reviewing and editing the final manuscript.
Citation
Madondo, C. and Van der Putten, M. (2022), "Mental health and criminal justice: bridging two worlds", The Journal of Forensic Practice, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 390-403. https://doi.org/10.1108/JFP-05-2022-0020
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited