18 January 2008
The courts are failing to ensure that people sentenced to community orders receive the mental health treatment they need, the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health has warned.
Community orders – the alternative to custodial sentences – impose requirements on offenders that can include curfews, drug rehabilitation, mental health treatment, and other activities such as training.
But Sainsbury Centre research found that only 725 of the 120,000 community orders issued in 2006 – less than 1% – included a mental health treatment requirement, compared with 11,000 that required drug treatment.
The research also found wide regional variations. In London, 201 mental health treatment requirements were included in orders in 2006, compared with two each in Northamptonshire and North Yorkshire.
Sainsbury Centre head of policy Linda Seymour said: 'It is estimated that half the people on community orders have at least one mental health problem. Few will be receiving the support they need for those problems. Many more offenders with mental health problems are being imprisoned because judges see no alternative for them in the community.'
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said: 'Sentencing is a matter for the courts. Offenders are treated no differently from any other member of the community when accessing mental health services.' But she added that a review by Lord Bradley would examine how more offenders with severe mental health problems could be diverted from prison.
The government was also consulting on its document Improving health, supporting justice, which looks at health and social care services available to people in the criminal justice system.
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