On Thursday 24 September 2015, Prof Glynis Murphy attended the Liaison & Diversion expert panel where the final service specification for Liaison and Diversion services was agreed. Currently only 50% of areas in England have a L&D service. These exist to identify offenders who have mental health, learning disability or substance misuse vulnerabilities when they first come into contact with the criminal justice system For many offenders prison can exacerbate these issues and make their situation worse.
The new services are due to be rolled out across the Country where they will be screening people for learning disabilities and other vulnerabilities and diverting them from custody where possible; aiming to improve their health outcomes, reduce re-offending and identify vulnerabilities earlier, thus reducing the likelihood that offenders will reach crisis point.
Prof Murphy will be giving the first talk in our Seminar series this year, 28 October 2015 at 1700 hrs. “What happens to ex-offenders with learning disabilities after leaving prison”. Full details of this event are available on our web page.