Screening Offenders for Health and Mental Health Problems at Court

Abstract

Studies of arrestees and court defendants have demonstrated that health and mental health problems are apparent in these groups at higher rates than in the general population. This study examined self-reported physical and mental well-being of 200 participants in a pre-trial support program (Court Integrated Services Program), using the Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12 v2). On entry to the program, clients scored significantly below population norms for mental health, with lower levels of reported mental health related to illicit drug use and reported mental health problems. The SF-12 v2 was also administered to 70 CISP clients immediately prior to program exit and these participants showed a statistically significant improvement in both physical and mental well-being compared with program entry. The criminal justice and public health implications of these and other findings from Australian offender studies are discussed.

Key words:

• bail support
• health assessment
• justice system
• mental health
• physical health
• program evaluation
• risk
• SF-12 v2
• therapeutic jurisprudence