Engendering Justice - from Policy to Practice - The Fawcett Society

writing the Government had undertaken to publish it, alongwith the response, in April 2009. This review should providemuch needed guidance on the diversion of offenderswith severe mental health problems. The Commission isalso encouraged by the forthcoming offender health andsocial care strategy which should assist with developinga coherent strategic approach to the needs of womenthroughout the criminal justice system. This strategy shouldbe finalised and implemented as a matter of urgency.The Commission reiterates its earlier recommendation thatwhere the defendant or offender appears to the court tohave mental health problems, but does not justify admissionto hospital, they should not be remanded or sentenced toimprisonment without a medical report on the impact ofincarceration upon their health. Defendants or offendersshould not be sent to prison in order to obtain a psychiatricreport. In addition, the Commission recommends thatsentencers must have sufficient information aboutcommunity drug and mental health services so that they donot see custody as the main solution for detoxification.The introduction of service level agreements betweenmagistrates’ courts and mental health services iswelcomed by the Commission and pilots are currentlybeing undertaken in South-West and North-West London.However, mental health services, particularly psychiatricservices, need to be linked more closely into all courtsacross England and Wales to ensure that there is swiftaccess.Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion (CJLD) Schemeshave been tasked with the role of diverting offenders withmental health needs away from the criminal justice system.These schemes involve a range of services and operatewithin police stations, courts and in rural and urban areas.Provision is patchy with differing approaches and qualityacross schemes. From January 2006 to March 2007, anevaluation was carried out of 10 CJLD schemes. 32 It foundthat schemes were seeing on average 2 to 3 percent ofthe total number of offenders, which suggests a large poolof unmet needs. There is a need for greater resourcing ofthese schemes to allow a nation-wide proactive approach;greater signposting and partnerships with availablecommunity provision; publicity for the schemes in policestations and courts and clear performance targets andmonitoring by the Department of Health. 33Training and Awareness of SentencersThere is widespread variation across courts as to the extentto which custodial sentences are utilised. 2006 figures showthat across the 42 criminal justice areas, custody rates inMagistrates’ Courts ranged from 6 percent to 16 percentand in Crown Courts from 45 percent to 68 percent.A study by the Ministry of Justice revealed that thesevariations were not fully explained by a variation in typesof cases but rather seemed to depend on the relationshipbetween the courts and other criminal justice agenciessuch as the police and probation as well as the sentencers’understanding of the availability of community provision intheir local area. 34Sentencers must be made aware of the differential impactsentencing decisions have on women and men includingcaring responsibilities for children or elders; the impact ofimprisonment on mental and emotional well-being; and thedisproportionate impact that incarceration has on offenderswho have caring responsibilities if they are imprisoned along distance from home.The Commission was encouraged by the SentencingAdvisory Panel’s recognition that guidance is required inrelation to female offenders in its recent consultation paperon the overarching principles of sentencing. This includedthe proposed principle that:The statutory requirement that a custodial sentence mustnot be imposed unless the offence is so serious thatneither a fine alone nor a community sentence can bejustified has special force in relation to women offendersbecause of the multiple harms that are likely to result fromincarceration. 35It was also encouraging that among the proposed mitigatingfactors listed as specifically applicable to women offenderswere: the link between women’s involvement in the criminaljustice system and prior victimisation; the high percentageof women who are the sole carers for dependent children;pregnancy; and the high proportion of women who sufferfrom mental health problems. The Commission suggeststhat it may also be appropriate for a non-exhaustive list ofharms which are likely to impact on women in custody tobe included in the overarching sentencing guidelines to alertsentencers to the potential impacts of decisions.Page 27