Joseph P L, Potter M
Institute of Psychiatry, London SE5 8AF.
Health Trends. 1990;22(2):51-3.
The homeless mentally ill petty offender is a familiar sight in the Inner London Magistrates' courts and presents a considerable problem regarding appropriate placement. This paper describes a new psychiatric service which transfers the focus of assessment of such offenders from the prison to the magistrates' courts. The service commenced in February 1989 and centres on two Inner London magistrates' courts, Bow Street and Marlborough Street. It provides a psychiatric assessment of the homeless mentally ill petty offender at the earliest possible opportunity following arrest, with the intention of diverting them from custody. This paper discusses the advantages of this scheme compared with prison-based assessments, and describes its success in diverting defendants from custody without necessarily resorting to hospital admission.
无家可归的患有精神疾病的轻微罪犯在内伦敦治安法庭是常见的景象，并且在合适安置方面存在相当大的问题。本文描述了一项新的精神病学服务，该服务将对此类罪犯的评估重点从监狱转移到了治安法庭。该服务于1989年2月开始，以内伦敦的两个治安法庭——鲍街法庭和马尔伯勒街法庭为中心。它在无家可归的患有精神疾病的轻微罪犯被捕后尽早提供精神病学评估，目的是使他们免于被拘留。本文讨论了该方案与基于监狱的评估相比的优势，并描述了其在不必诉诸住院治疗的情况下成功使被告免于被拘留的情况。
