Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner funds mental health support for offenders

Funding to increase the uptake of mental health treatment for offenders is being provided by the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire.

An award of £57,958 has been made from the Community Safety and Criminal Justice budget for the two-year project.

The money will be used to pay for clinical psychologists to work with and counsel offenders across the county.

This money will be matched by NHS England and provide sessions for those perpetrators with mental health issues who are given court orders to get assistance.

David Lloyd said: “This is an example of how we as Police and Crime Commissioners can reduce crime by tackling offenders, often before they graduate to more serious crimes.

“This funding ensures partners including the criminal justice system and health care services work together on practical solutions to meet a need which may not previously have been met .

“Such interventions are a long-term investment which will pay dividends in reducing crime, reducing demand and thereby reducing costs.”

The service will be operated by the Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust and involves increasing the uptake of mental health treatment by male offenders as part of a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement (CSTR) court order.

It will complement the existing drug/alcohol treatment delivered within a CSTR.

More than £1m of funding has already been allocated from the Community Safety and Criminal Justice budget by the Commissioner.

The initiatives funded align to the aims of the Commissioner’s Police and Crime Plan which encourage partnership working to support victims, reduce crime and reoffending by addressing underlying causes through collaboration and new innovative responses.