Introduction | Key features | Expected outcomes | Contact details
Program Flowchart | download Program Information in pdf format

Introduction

The Magistrates Court Diversion Program was established in June of 1999 as a South Australian Cabinet funded pilot project.  In the June 2001 budget the Attorney-General Mr Trevor Griffin announced that funding had been allocated to continue its operation and expansion.

The program is designed to meet the needs of those individuals appearing in the Magistrate’s Court of South Australia who have committed certain minor and summary offences and who have impaired intellectual or mental functioning as a result of:

a mental illness; an intellectual disability; a personality disorder; acquired brain injury or neurological disorder including dementia.

The pilot commenced with the employment of the Principal Co-ordinator and the Senior Clinical Advisor at the end of June 1999.  The program began accepting referrals towards the end of August after an initial setting up period and the establishment of the program team within the Adelaide Magistrates Courts.

The program provides an opportunity for eligible individuals to voluntarily address their mental health, disability needs and any offending behaviours while legal proceedings are adjourned. The program is not a service provider in itself.  However the program facilitates a range of health and other appropriate services to assist individuals who otherwise would be left to continue through the criminal justice system with unresolved mental health or impairment problems.  The program facilitates a range of service involvement with the aim of participants addressing any perceived link between offending and their impaired intellectual or mental functioning thereby improving the responses of both the criminal justice system and the health and disability service system.

The program has a Steering Committee Chaired by the Chief Magistrate, Mr Alan Moss and a Service Providers Operations Group, which include a range of service providers from the health and disability sector.  The program is dynamic and has developed a problem solving approach to issues as they arise.

The program has been independently evaluated by the Office of Crime Statistics and an evaluation report completed.  An information management system has been developed to:

• assist the staff in managing participants as they move through the program; and
• gather data for the evaluation of the program. 

The data gathered will ensure information continues to be available to conduct a longitudinal study as the program now develops beyond the pilot stage and to other jurisdictions.

The program will employ a number of court-based personnel:

• A Principal Coordinator who manages and co-ordinates the program within the courts and the wider community.
• Senior Clinical Advisor, who is primarily responsible for the provision of an assessment service to support the program and the provide specialist advice to the courts.
• Clinical Advisor responsible for the eligibility and needs assessment of participants.
• Liaison Officer who is responsible for liaising with a range of service providers, ensuring that participants needs are met while participating in the program.
• A Mental Health Justice Liaison Officer employed by and responsible to the Mental Health Service, who acts as a link between the public mental health system and the Magistrates Court Diversion Program.

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• The program will be at its most effective if an individual is referred to the diversion program at the time charges are laid.

• Referral to the program is flexible.  Persons may refer themselves or be referred by the police, solicitors, case managers, guardians, Magistrates, Police Prosecutions, Mental Health Services etc.

• Under the program, a person who has been charged with a minor offence and who shows signs of being mentally ill or impaired can elect to be diverted to an open court, which sits  at the Adelaide Magistrates Court once a week.

• The program will consider only summary or certain minor indictable offences and the single Magistrate Mr T Iuliano SM who has been specifically assigned to the program, will have the authority to refuse any person entry to the program.

• Persons referred to the program will have the court procedures and treatment and justice options fully explained to them, in a manner, which optimises understanding.  The person’s legal representative will be present if requested.

• For an individual to be accepted onto the program there will be no formal requirement to plead guilty to any offence. However, the Court will need to know that the matter is not under dispute nor will be contested.

• The person, or person’s guardian will be required to consent to assessment and participation in the Magistrates Court Diversion Program and to the exchange of information between treatment and service providers.  If consent is not given, the person will be referred to the normal court process where any defence may of course include the provisions of CLCA Part 8A.

• Following consent, each person will undergo a preliminary assessment by the Clinical Advisors employed by the court specifically to make preliminary psychological assessments.

• A preliminary report containing recommendation with regard to eligibility, mental health or disability needs will be given to the Magistrate who may use his discretion to adjourn any court proceedings for a period that will allow the person to enter into an assessment and treatment program.  The program contains set review dates and a final date where the person must be brought back to the court.

• The Magistrate may excuse the defendant from appearing in court for their reviews.

• The person’s involvement and progress through the treatment program is reported back to the court and the Magistrate, police and defence lawyers may use this information in dealing further with the case.

• The Magistrate will then make a determination taking into account the participants involvement in the program, this may include the possibility of withdrawal by the police prosecution service of certain minor matters as a result of the participants successful completion of the program.

• If the preliminary assessment does not indicate a current mental impairment, or the Magistrate deems that the person should not be dealt with through the program, the person will be returned to the normal court process.

• There is the potential for video-conferencing to be used to assist those individuals who would find physical attendance at court, or attendance for assessment problematic, particularly with the expansion of the program beyond the Adelaide Magistrates Court.

• Volunteers assist and support participants during their court hearings.

Outcomes for the person with a mental impairment are:

• access to early assessment and intervention;

• facilitation of their treatment and support needs; and

• reduction of offending behaviour.

The following broader outcomes have also been anticipated:

• the development of best practice techniques in dealing with mentally impaired persons, specialised court based personnel with in-depth knowledge of court processes, mental impairment, service providers and treatment regimes who can advise on the management of people with an impairment;

• simplified and streamlined processes for dealing with people with a mental health and disability issue that come before the court.

• improved interface between health and justice responses, shared outcomes for persons with a mental impairment, along with increased understanding of each sector and their systems;

• collection of data that will allow for establishing trends and projections, and the impact on demand for services;

• incentives and opportunities for support services to pro-actively respond to issues impacting on their clients involved in the justice system; and

• a greater understanding amongst service providers and the public generally, of the needs of people with a mental illness or disability who have committed an offence and issues impacting on the behaviour leading to that offence.

Ms Sue Dusmohamed
Manager Diversion Court
Magistrates Court Diversion Program
Adelaide Magistrates Court
260-280 Victoria Square
PO Box 6115 Halifax Street
Adelaide SA 5000
Phone: 61 8 8204 8447
Fax: 61 8 8204 0777
E-mail: susan.dusmohamed@courts.sa.gov.au

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