Crimes Mental Impairment consultation paper.pdf - Victorian Law ...

Victorian Law Reform Commission
Review of the Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997: Consultation Paper
6.77 Participants in the ARC List are required to attend regular hearings during the course
of their participation (that may be up to 12 months) where their issues and progress in
addressing them are discussed. The list relies on ‘therapeutic jurisprudence principles’ that
take into account the participant’s mental illness or cognitive impairment. 108 A magistrate
supervises the list, supported by a program manager and clinical or case advisors who
provide support to the participants throughout their involvement with the list. An
evaluation of the ARC List has been conducted by KPMG but is not publicly available. The
ARC List is widely regarded as a valuable initiative.
Courts Integrated Services Program (CISP)
6.78 CISP commenced operation in early 2007. It is a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation program
established by the Magistrates’ Court in collaboration with the Department of Justice to
ensure that accused people receive appropriate treatment and support services with the
aim of promoting safer communities by reducing re-offending. It provides referrals or links
for the participant to drug and alcohol treatment, crisis accommodation, disability services
and mental health services. The program currently operates in Melbourne, Sunshine and
Latrobe Valley Magistrates’ Courts.
6.79 CISP provides case management by:
• providing participants with short-term assistance to address their health and social
needs
• working on the causes of their offending through individualised case management
support
• helping them gain access to treatment and community support services.
6.80 CISP participants can be involved in the program for up to four months. A recent
evaluation of CISP found that ‘compared with offenders at other court venues, offenders
who completed CISP showed a significantly lower rate of re-offending in the months after
they exited the program’. 109
Mental Health Court Liaison Service (MHCLS)
6.81 The Mental Health Court Liaison Service (MHCLS), provided by Forensicare, is a
court-based assessment and advice service. The main role of the MHCLS is to provide
mental state assessments and advice regarding the management and needs of accused
people, and if necessary, referring people to area mental health services for treatment
and case management. The MHCLS sometimes undertakes assessments for the purpose
of determining whether an accused person is unfit to stand trial. Forensicare provides the
assessment service to seven metropolitan Magistrates’ Courts and there are four regional
roles that are provided by local area mental health services.
Diversion if the CMIA is further extended to the Magistrates’ Court
6.82 At present, the ARC List and CISP are not designed to include accused people who are
unfit to stand trial (or people who are found criminally responsible following a finding of
unfitness) or those who would qualify for a defence of mental impairment. This can be
contrasted with the South Australian diversion program that aims to provide a diversion
option in the Magistrates’ Court for people who may otherwise put forward a defence of
mental impairment. Any expansion of the ARC List or CISP to people found unfit to stand
trial or not guilty because of mental impairment would require a change in the respective
criteria for eligibility.
132
108 Ibid 57.
109 Stuart Ross, Evaluation of the Court Integrated Services Program - Final Report (2012) 5.