Court diversion at 10 years: Can it work, does it work and has it a future?

Abstract

Ten years after the inception of psychiatric diversion schemes to magistrates' courts in England and Wales, their results are reviewed in order to examine whether they can work, whether in general they do work, and what directions their development should take in future. Both published and extensive unpublished sources are examined. It is concluded that court diversion can be highly effective in the identification and acceleration into hospital of mentally disordered offenders, as one component of comprehensive diversion arrangements. However, most court diversion services are currently inadequately planned, organized or resourced, and are therefore of limited effect. It is argued that the ‘experimental’ phase of court diversion should now be at an end. A central strategy is required, and properly designed and adequately supported court services should be incorporated into, and understood to be a core part of, mainstream local psychiatric provision. Without such action, the future of court diversion lies in doubt.

Key Words:

• diversion
• liaison
• CPN
• mentally disordered offender
• police