Pre‐arrest diversion of people with mental illness: literature review and international survey
Abstract
Mental health diversion is a process where alternatives to criminal sanctions are made available to persons with mental illness (PMI) who have come into contact with the law. One form of mental health diversion is pre‐arrest, in which the police use their discretion in laying charges. Concomitant with the growth of pre‐arrest diversion programs is a growing body of research devoted to the phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to review the existing literature of pre‐arrest diversion, and to report the results of an international survey of pre‐arrest diversion programs we conducted to identify evidence‐based practices. On the basis of our review and survey, we note that successful pre‐trial programs appear to integrate relevant mental health, substance abuse and criminal justice agencies by having regular meetings between key personnel from the various agencies. Often, a liaison person with a mandate to effect strong leadership plays a key role in the coordination of various agencies. Streamlining services through the creation of an emergency drop‐off center with a no‐refusal policy for police cases is seen as crucial. While there is some indication that mentally ill offenders benefit from their participation in this form of diversion, the evaluative literature has not yet achieved the “critical mass” necessary to create generalizable, evidence‐based knowledge. The absence of generally agreed‐upon outcomes could lead to the inequitable application of basic principles of diversion. We suggest that indicators, benchmarks, and outcomes must be agreed upon if a comprehensive understanding of pre‐arrest programs is to emerge. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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Two multinational studies were undertaken in Australia, Canada and the USA.
“The studies were from eight countries: Australia,27–41 Canada,42–50 Denmark,51 France,52 Ireland,53 Netherlands,54 UK55–91 and USA92–148; two multinational studies were undertaken in Australia, Canada and the USA.110 149”
From Interagency collaboration models for people with mental ill health in contact with the police: a systematic scoping review (2018) · cites this paper as [110]
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- Authors
- Hartford, K., Carey, R., & Mendonca, J.
- Affiliations
- Lawson Health Research Institute (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Hartford, Kathleen
- Venue
- Behavioral Sciences & the Law
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2006-11
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 845-856
- ISSN
- 0735-3936 (ISSN-L)
- 1099-0798
- OpenAlex
- W2001339965
- Cited by
- 106
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 16.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Behavioral Sciences & the Law (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Criminal Law and Policy
- Social Sciences › Law › Criminal Justice and Penology
- Keywords
- people with mental disorders, criminal justice, police discretion, inter-agency coordination, substance abuse, evidence-based practice, program outcomes, benchmark
- MeSH terms
- Mental Disorders, Commitment of Mentally Ill, Commitment of Persons with Psychiatric Disorders, Community Mental Health Services, Cross-Cultural Comparison, Humans, Prisoners, Referral and Consultation, Comorbidity, Treatment Outcome, Substance-Related Disorders
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