Youth Justice and Mental Health: Intercontinental Challenges and 455 Best Practices

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Youth Justice and Mental Health: Intercontinental Challenges and 455 Best Practices INTERNATIONAL JUVENILE JUSTICE OBSERVATORY (IJJO) Rue Mercelis, 50. 1050. Brussels. Belgium Phone: 00 32 262 988 90 [email protected] www.ijjo.org PARTNERS ASSOCIATE PARTNERS With nancial support from the EU's Daphne III Programme MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES FOR YOUNG OFFENDERS EUROPEAN COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE MHYO JLS/2008/CFP/DAP/2008-1 MHYO VOLUME I MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES AND YOUNG OFFENDERS: STATE OF ART, CHALLENGES AND GOOD PRACTICES Author International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) Director of publication Dr. Francisco Legaz Cervantes Project Coordinators Cédric Foussard Agustina Ramos Scientific review Prof. Gary O’Reilly © IJJO November 2011 Published by the International Juvenile Justice Observatory (IJJO) 50, Rue Mercelis, Brussels, 1050 Belgium. [email protected] This publication has been produced with the financial support of the Daphne III programme of the European Commission. The contents of this publicationare the sole responsibility of the International Juvenile Justice Observatory and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission. MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES FOR YOUNG OFFENDERS EUROPEAN COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND TRANSFER OF KNOWLEDGE MHYO VOLUME I Index ........................................................................................................................................ Foreword 9 Acknowledgements 12 Project Overview: Objective and methods 13 Preface 18 Introduction 19 Chapter I: How will international standards at UN and EU level protect 33 children and young people in conflict with the law suffering from mental illness? Mental Health and Young Offenders in the EU Member States 43 Chapter II: Psychiatric problems and juvenile delinquency: scientific 44 links support calls for innovative management, Belgium Chapter III: Mental health Intervention for young offenders in France: 61 between the child psychiatry issue and the reform of juvenile justice Chapter IV: Mental health of young offenders in the Italian context: 112 analysis of the phenomenon, interventions and recommendations Chapter V: Young offenders and mental health in the Netherlands: 181 profile, legal framework and interventions Chapter VI: Analysis of the current situation of young offenders with 253 mental problems in Poland Chapter VII: Young offenders and mental health: the Portuguese 299 experience Chapter VIII: Legal and Care resources for young offenders with 332 mental health issues: The Spanish intervention approach and regulation Chapter IX: Promoting emotional and social well-being – the mental 378 health needs of young offenders in the United Kingdom Youth justice and Mental Health: Intercontinental Challenges and 455 best practices Chapter X: Mental Health and Child Justice in Africa: A brief appraisal 456 of the law and practice Chapter XI: Juvenile Justice and Mental Health in Brazil: context, 471 perspectives and challenges Conclusions 505 Annexes 508 MHYO 9 VOLUME I Foreword ....................................................................................................................................... by Dr. Francisco Legaz Cervantes Chairman of the International Juvenile Justice Observatory ........................................................................................................................................ Recently more attention has been given to the trend of minors and young people who carry out illegal behaviour and who also suffer from mental health disturbance or illness, associated in large part with the consumption and abuse of drugs. These are minors and young people in whom mental illness, either alone or in combination with addiction to toxic substances, has been the cause or a contributing factor to the occurrence of anti- social behaviour. When in 2006 a European Union strategy on mental health1 was mentioned, the European Parliament pointed out that with regards to adult delinquents “approximately 40% of prisoners suffer from some form of mental illness, and the probability of them committing suicide is seven times greater compared to people who are integrated into society. Inadequate prison conditions can aggravate illness and impede rehabilitation”. In the case of young detainees, they have a greater tendency to develop mental illness than adults, given that 95% of them suffer from at least one mental health issue and 80% suffer from more than one illness2 (Lader et al., 2000). According to Prison Reform Trust3, the probability of minors of detention age committing suicide is eighteen times higher than for people who live in the community. Evidence must be provided to support the objective and quantitative data (which experts deem to be irrefutable). Scientific discoveries in recent years, in the fields of genetics and neuroscience, are leading to profound transformation in the areas of knowledge and intervention relating to mental illness. Furthermore, if we bear in mind that the first onset of mental disorders usually occurs in childhood or adolescence4, the search for a new focus in the understanding of mental disturbances is a truly fascinating one, which will without doubt have consequences for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental health disturbances. 1 European Parliament (2006). European Parliament resolution on improving the mental health of the population. Towards a strategy on mental health for the European Union (2006/2058(INI)). 2 Lader, D., Singleton, N. & Meltzer, H. (2000). Psychiatric morbidity amongst young offenders in England and Wales. London: Office for National Statistics. 3 Prison Reform Trust (2007). Prison Factfile Bromley Briefing May 2007. London: Prison Reform Trust. 4 Kessler RC, Amminger GP, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, Alonso J, Lee S, Ustün TB. Age of onset of mental disorders: a review of recent literature. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2007. Jul;20(4):359-64. 10 FOREWORD Young offenders with a mental health illness find themselves in a paradoxical situation, facing two different systems which categorise them in a contradictory manner: the judicial system considers them to be a delinquent, and the health system considers them to be a victim of mental illness. This is the reality which should lead us to the following consideration: minors with mental health disturbances should not be criminalised, whilst at the same time neither should young offenders be pathologised. The use of specialised methods and tools for the diagnosis, detection and evaluation of mental health problems should be considered highly relevant in the process of intervention with these minors. It is very important that these minors and young people whose deviant behaviour (which we maintain is caused or facilitated by the mental disturbances from which they suffer) places them in the middle of a criminal process, perceive the various professionals who work with them not as separate entities but as teams which are completely involved and integrated, and that collaborate closely from a multidisciplinary perspective. This outlook of the problem and model of action is one which is supported by expert organisations and institutions in this area, including the International Juvenile Justice Observatory, who are committed to finding solutions. The International Juvenile Justice Observatory began its journey in 2003 as a consequence to increased awareness of the connection between minors and young people in conflict with the law, regardless of their location, and the variety and insufficiency in many cases of response from various organisations and judicial and political systems. With the topic of Juvenile Justice without Borders, the IJJO has become a space for finding and collaborating with professionals, experts, institutions, etc., to improve international development of policies, programmes, research and resources aimed at preventative and sanctioned educational action that permits effective integration of minors and young people in conflict with the law. All of this is within the framework of international norms and standards adopted by the United Nations, with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as a reference point. The commitment of the IJJO should be strengthened in times such as this. Facing the global economic crisis we must continue working to ensure that socio-economic circumstances do not negatively affect collective needs for better protection for minors and young people in conflict with the law and for those who suffer from mental health disturbances. The IJJO recognises the growing interest in and concern for this area in the research, journals and meetings we have organised or participated in. In this context, and within the DAPHNE III Program, the European Commission supported the IJJO in the development and coordination of a research, analysis and comparative project into the current situation in Europe of young offenders with mental health problems. This was carried out in collaboration with other European MHYO 11 VOLUME I organisations and institutions that share an interest in this area. The “European Comparative Analysis and Knowledge Transfer of Mental Health Resources for Young Offenders” (MHYO) is an innovative project with the objective of sharing knowledge and experience regarding minors that, as victims of mental health disturbances, have infringed criminal law, leading them into a vicious circle of delinquency and recidivism. This project has created a training and good practice framework adapted to the needs of professionals working in the areas of development and psychological processes
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