![]() One important opportunity is the establishment of Mental Health Courts set up specifically for people with diagnosed mental illnesses relevant to their crimes. (Hoke, 2015) For this reason, the third intercept point is the jail or court system, where many individuals with mental illness are managed. Individuals who have mental illnesses and get involved in the criminal justice system are likely to spend a significantly longer jail term than individuals with the same charges who do not have mental illnesses. Additionally the court may “employ mental health workers to assess individuals after arrest in the jail or the courthouse and advise the court about the possible presence of mental illness and options for assessment and treatment, which could include diversion alternatives or treatment as a condition of probation.” Jail / Court Individuals may be diverted at this point to programs for non-violent, low level crime (such as petty theft or trespassing) based on the symptoms of their mental illness.ĭiverting this individual to mental health treatment can avoid exacerbating their mental health issues. Initial Detention / Court HearingsĪfter an individual has been arrested, the next interception point of the sequential intercept model is initial detention and hearings post-arrest. Emergency services may also respond to mental health issues where individuals are psychotic or otherwise struggling with a connection to reality, which can put these staff in danger. Specially trained mental health police officersĪll of these approaches involve combining front-line policing with mental health support to ensure that sensitivity is respected. ![]() Pairing police officers with mental health workers to go on patrol calls.Employing mental health workers as civilians in the Police Service.Mobile Crisis Teams of mental health workers.Munetz & Griffin (2006) describe several strategies to help intervene at this point: Noting that up to 10% of police calls by patrol officers involve mental health issues (Cordner, 2006), the first interception point is front-line police and emergency services workers. The model was based on ensuring that people with mental health issues are not forced into the criminal justice system at greater rates than people without mental health issues. The Sequential Intercept Model is usually focused around 5 broad target points, or areas where people with mental health issues may find themselves in contact with police or legal officials. The Sequential Intercept Model was developed by Mark Munetz and Patricia Griffin (2006) to help communities understand the way people with mental health issues interact with the criminal justice system and to target interventions to prevent people from getting deeper involved in the system.
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