New Criminal Justice Service is One Year Old
The Lincolnshire Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Service (CJL&D) is celebrating one-year of successful service, supporting vulnerable individuals in the criminal justice system throughout a challenging year.
The service is delivered by Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) and Lincolnshire Action Trust (LAT) to provide support for vulnerable people when they first encounter the criminal justice system, suspected of having committed a crime.
Individuals can be referred to the service by police custody or the magistrates’ court if they are identified as being potentially vulnerable. Those unmet needs could include mental health problems, learning disabilities, drug and alcohol problems, housing and more.
Individuals referred to the service are seen by members of the team of LPFT clinicians and LAT practitioners to assess their needs. Information is then shared with police and courts to determine the best course of action for the individual and extra support is put in place if they remain in the criminal justice system or are diverted into health, social care or other support services.
Sarah Connery, Acting Chief Executive of LPFT, said: “In its first year of operation, CJL&D has shown itself to be an essential service.
“We know that people with mental health and other needs are over-represented in prisons and probation services, often due to their traumatic life experiences and marginalisation.
“CJL&D gives us the chance to address people’s needs at the earliest point in the criminal justice process and to better inform any decisions that are made about them.”
Since its launch in April 2020, CJL&D practitioners and clinicians have assessed the needs of 966 adults and 125 under-18s in police custody.
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the service has only been able to operate in the custody suites of Lincolnshire Police stations in Boston, Grantham, Lincoln, and Skegness, and in outreach to courts.
Alison Goddard, Chief Executive of LAT, said: “We are delighted that so many people have been helped by CJL&D.
“By supporting people to engage with services, the issues that led to their entry into the criminal justice system can be addressed to prevent them from re-entering it in the future.
“The task now is to build services that will prevent more people entering the criminal justice system in the first place.”
Lincolnshire’s Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Service, commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement, is operating seven days a week between the hours of 9am and 9pm, 365 days a year.
To find out more, please visit: www.lpft.nhs.uk/liaison-and-diversion
Notes for editors:
About Lincolnshire’s Criminal Justice Liaison and Diversion Service:
- The Lincolnshire CJL&D service is commissioned by NHS England and NHS Improvement. The contract awarded to Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Lincolnshire Action Trust is four years long and extendable by up to two further years.
- CJL&D focuses on mental ill health, learning disability, drug and alcohol use, under-18s, accommodation, finances, social care and safeguarding needs.
- A national framework of liaison and diversion services was created in response to The Bradley Report – Lord Bradley’s 2009 review of people with mental health problems or learning disabilities in the criminal justice system.
- Lincolnshire was the final police force area to get the service, meaning there is national coverage across all police areas in England and Wales.
- Referrals can be accepted from the police, solicitors, probation, healthcare professionals police custody suites and arrested people themselves.
- For more information visit: www.lpft.nhs.uk/liaison-and-diversion.
About Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust:
- Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (LPFT) provides specialist health and social care services for people with a learning disability and/or mental health issues.
- It provides care and treatment for a local population of some 718,800 people, as well as specialist services for people who live in other areas of the East Midlands.
- It is focused on helping people towards recovery, enabling them to live well in their community as much as possible.
- For more information visit: www.lpft.nhs.uk.
About Lincolnshire Action Trust:
- Established in 2000, Lincolnshire Action Trust (LAT) is a registered charity based in Lincoln.
- LAT provides advice, guidance and advocacy to individuals across the nine reducing reoffending pathways: accommodation; health; finance, benefits and debt; education, training and employment; family and relationships; drugs and alcohol; attitudes, thinking and behaviour; and abuse.
- The charity works with statutory and non-statutory agencies to improve the skills and employability of individuals involved in the criminal justice system in Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland and Leicestershire, as well as their families and children.
- LAT delivers a proactive and innovative partnership approach to achieve the care, resettlement and rehabilitation of individuals in the criminal justice system, those at risk of entering the criminal justice system and their families.
- Lincolnshire Action Trust identifies client needs and gaps in current provision and designs bespoke services to address them. Services are tailored to the individual and include sessions on advice and guidance, debt and financial advice, accommodation support, employability and family support and disclosure.
- LAT hosts the UK’s first ‘Departure Lounge’ at HMP Lincoln, which aims to support people as they are released from prison. The lounge offers a basic help package to address any immediate needs but can also provide guidance on housing, travel and other long-term needs.
- LAT delivers SPARC+ (Supporting People After Remand or Conviction) – an assessment service at Lincoln Magistrates’ Court which addresses the immediate needs of individuals who have been sentenced.
- For more information visit: www.LATcharity.org.uk.
