OUTCOMES OF CUSTODY DIVERSION FOR VIOLENT OFFENDERS

Many people with a mental disorder who commit crimes do not receive the specialist help they need from health and social services and are sentenced to prison. Custody Diversion Teams (CDTs) were therefore set up to identify and refer mentally disordered offenders to appropriate care and treatment from the health, social services and probation. The focus of this study is on people charged with violent offences, the services they received and whether or not they went on to commit further offences. Data on over 4,000 people referred to one CDT in North East England over the last six years are being analysed.