Evaluation of a diversion from custody scheme at magistrates' courts

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Abstract
A psychiatric liaison service to the four magistrates' courts lying within the catchment area of the forensic mental health service based at the Bracton Clinic was established in February 1991. The principal aim was to decrease the frequency and length of custodial remands for psychiatric reports by diverting, whenever appropriate, mentally disordered offenders from custody. We report on the preliminary analysis of a consecutive series of the first 150 defendants referred by the court for a psychiatric opinion. Overall 77% of the referrals were seen in custody and following assessment 64% of these were diverted, i.e. given bail, given a non-custodial disposal, or admitted to hospital. Over 50% of the cases were concluded on the day of the assessment and within 21 days three-quarters of the cases had been disposed of. There were 23 admissions, representing 15% of all referrals. Many more defendants received psychiatric treatment on a voluntary basis in the community, which was often combined with a conditional discharge from the court. Evaluation of the scheme shows that a psychiatric assessment service can be satisfactorily provided to a number of courts within a defined catchment area. A large number of defendants were diverted from custody and the duration of psychiatric remands was substantially reduced. Such a scheme has a minimal impact on the overall number of admissions in the receiving hospitals.