NCJ Number
238472
Date Published
2012
Length
69 pages
Annotation
Following a literature review that addresses the prevalence of mental disorders across Australia's criminal justice system and the various screening measures described in the international literature, an overview of current practice for identifying mental disorders across Australian police, courts, and corrections is presented, along with a fiscal analysis of the most promising approaches and recommendations for further development.
Abstract
The literature review shows that the prevalence rates of a wide variety of mental disorders are disproportionately high in Australia's criminal justice system; however, research shows that a relatively poor job is done in identifying the needs of mentally disordered offenders prior to the time they enter the criminal justice system. Police services are generally the first point of contact with the criminal justice system. The increased prevalence of mental disorders among jail inmates suggests that, at least in the past, arrest has been the predominant action police have pursued with persons having mental disorders. Several formal screening tools have been developed for identifying mentally disordered offenders. Validation data for at least three of these tools are promising. Formal court liaison programs/services apparently exist in most Australian States. These services are usually provided by forensic mental health professionals. These services show promise for identifying individuals before the courts who are mentally ill or require services. Following admission to a correctional facility, no Australian jurisdictions have any formal ongoing assessment or screening service that monitors prisoners' mental health status. Nonetheless, several jurisdictions do conduct re-assessments as required, and suicide risk-assessment is a key focus. Recommendations pertain to information-sharing on offenders' mental disorders among criminal justice agencies, police training, mental health screening following arrest, and the use of formal, validated screening instruments for mental illness at admission to a correctional facility and periodically after that. 5 tables, 59 references, and appended supplementary information and sample screening forms