The issues

Over the last year, we have been working with voluntary organisations to understand the mental health challenges faced by people in contact with the criminal justice system. This work, led by Matina Marougka in her role as the RR3's mental health seat holder, has been undertaken through the RR3’s Special Interest Group on Community Provision, with the launching of its first report, today, the culmination of that work.  

The scale of the challenge is stark. Demand for mental health treatment continues to outstrip supply, exacerbated by diminished treatment capacity. Yet funding restraints are restricting the ability of voluntary organisations to cater for the wide range of need that people are presenting with.

There are acute challenges for people in contact with the criminal justice system, in light of this increasing demand. This includes the ‘postcode lottery’ of service provision, which sees the support on offer vary markedly depending on the area in which a person resettles into. We also heard of a lack of flexibility regarding service specification, which fails to cater for people presenting with complex and overlapping needs. This results in the voluntary sector fillings gaps in statutory provision.

We also know that, in many cases, it is more effective to support people in the community, through the provision of holistic, long-term support. Yet, community sentences are decreasing and more people are being sent to prison for longer. This is illustrated in data highlighted by the report which shows that mental health treatment requirements continue to be under-utilised.

This under-utilisation is particularly prevalent when it coms to accessing mental health care for racially minoritised individuals. There is a lack of publicly data available that disaggregates MHTRs issuance by ethnicity. But given the lower overall numbers of MHTRs issued, and the continued racial disparities in sentencing – including that Black and Asian defendants are more likely to receive an immediate custodial sentence – this  likely contributes to the lower issuance of MHTRs to racially minoritised individuals.

The solutions

28 voluntary organisations developed a range of practical recommendations as part of the SIG’s work, designed to mitigate the challenges set out in this blog. The overarching recommendation is for appropriate support to be put in place at every stage of a person’s contact with the criminal justice system. This would begin with a person’s first contact with the system in order to ensure successful diversion, and continue for people serving custodial services, incorporating appropriate support in preparation for release. Such support would continue into the community, to ensure that mental health-related need can continue to be addressed.

This report marks the beginning of a conversation that, we hope, leads to policy reforms that more effectively address the mental health needs of people in contact with the criminal justice system. In the coming weeks and months, we will be engaging with Ministers and Officials on the recommendations set out in the report. Get in touch if you would like to be involved!