Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health

Young People in Prison

Of the 81,592 people in prison on 31 January 2008, 11,663 were young people (aged 15-20).

Young people in prison have an even greater prevalence of poor mental health than adults, few have any qualifications or had worked prior to prison and most had traumatic experiences prior to their incarceration. They are 18 times more likely to commit suicide in prison than in the community.

Developing Youth Justice services

The Youth Justice Development project will test out the most effective ways health and criminal justice services can meet the mental health needs of young people in custody or involved with youth offending teams in the community.

The two-year project will started in 2007 and is funded by the Department of Health, the Sainsbury Centre and the Youth Justice Board. It will review the evidence of what work is most effective to address mental health needs. It will also look at:

• Diversion & court/custody liaison
• Mental health services for young people custodial settings
• Forensic child and adolescent mental health services
• The role of the mental health worker in youth offending teams.

The results will be used to develop the most promising approaches locally. A steering group made up from the three agencies will monitor the project.

For more information, contact Lorraine Khan or Jane Wilson.

Evaluating a Dual Diagnosis service

We have helped design a pilot service for young people with significant mental health and substance misuse problems in Thanet and Dover, in partnership with Kent Youth Offending Service. The aim of the project is to provide cost effective yet enhanced services for these young people to reduce offending and the harm caused by substance misuse and mental health problems.

The pilot service is running for one year and the Sainsbury Centre is evaluating its effectiveness with some follow-up for a year after the pilot.

The first phase of the evaluation will be completed in July 2008 and the second phase (follow-up) in July 2009. For more information, contact Grahan Durcan.