Effectiveness of Responses (HSC SSCE Legal Studies): Revision Notes
Effectiveness of Responses
Overview of the legal system's response
The legal system in Australia has implemented various policies and procedures to support people with mental illness. However, significant challenges remain in providing adequate justice and support. People with mental illness often face critical barriers including:
- Distance from family support
- Difficulty attending medical appointments
- Problems navigating bureaucracy
- Risk of "slipping through the cracks" of support systems
These challenges mean that even well-intentioned schemes may fail to reach those who need them most. The systemic nature of these barriers requires addressing at multiple levels of government and community support.
Police responses to mental illness
Historical problems
When deinstitutionalisation policies were introduced in the late 1970s (moving people out of psychiatric institutions into community care), police in some states received inadequate training on how to interact with people showing signs of mental illness. This led to serious incidents that received media attention.
The shift from institutional to community-based care represented a major policy change but lacked the necessary infrastructure and training to support it effectively.
Case studies of police interactions
Case Study: Roni Levi (1997)
Mr Levi was shot and killed by police on Bondi Beach after behaving in a threatening manner while carrying a knife. Police surrounded him and fired four times. This incident highlighted the lack of proper protocols for dealing with mentally ill individuals in crisis.
Key Issues Identified:
- No established de-escalation procedures
- Insufficient training for crisis situations involving mental illness
- Lack of coordination with mental health services
State patterns
Between 1990 and 1995, seven people with mental illness were shot dead by police in Victoria alone. This pattern demonstrated a nationwide problem requiring urgent reform across all Australian states.
Recent incidents - continuing challenges
Despite reforms, problems have persisted into the modern era, demonstrating that policy changes alone are insufficient without proper implementation and ongoing training.
Case Study: Adam Salter (2009)
A 36-year-old man was shot in the back by Sydney police responding to reports he was stabbing himself with a knife. The officer shouted "Taser, taser, taser" before firing but used her gun instead. A coronial inquest found strong evidence she had intended to use her taser but fired the gun by mistake.
Critical Issues Identified:
- Equipment confusion under pressure
- Decision-making failures in mental health crisis situations
- Need for better weapon training protocols
Case Study: Roberto Laudisio Curti (2012)
A Brazilian student died after seven Sydney police officers chased him, tasered him multiple times, sprayed him with nearly three cans of OC spray, handcuffed and restrained him on the ground. NSW Coroner Mary Jerram condemned the officers' actions, describing the struggle as "chaotic and violent" with officers showing "little or no understanding" of appropriate responses.
Coroner's Key Recommendations:
- Improved communication protocols when mental health concerns are identified
- Enhanced training for officers to respond appropriately to mental disturbance
- Review of procedures to prevent excessive force
Mental Health Intervention Team (MHIT)
The NSW Police Force developed the Mental Health Intervention Team (MHIT) program, with a goal to train 10% of all operational police by the end of 2015. This represented a significant investment in specialized mental health crisis response training.
The program has four key aims:
Reducing risk of injury - Minimising harm to both police officers and mental health consumers during crisis incidents
Improving awareness - Ensuring front-line police understand the risks involved when interacting with people experiencing mental health crises
Improving collaboration - Building stronger partnerships with government and non-government agencies for coordinated crisis response
Reducing handover time - Streamlining the process of transferring mental health consumers into the healthcare system
Despite these initiatives, the deaths of Adam Salter and Roberto Curti demonstrate that training and procedures still require significant improvement. Policy implementation must be matched with adequate resources, regular retraining, and robust accountability mechanisms.
Mental illness and imprisonment
Why imprisonment rates are high
An Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study from 2010 identified multiple interconnected reasons for the high number of people with mental illness in prison:
Inadequate community support
The closure of large psychiatric institutions was not matched by a corresponding increase in community-based resources, funding and support services. This fundamental policy failure has resulted in:
- Increased homelessness among people with mental illness
- Higher rates of offending behaviour
- Greater likelihood of police surveillance
The deinstitutionalisation movement, while well-intentioned, created a service vacuum that was never adequately filled by community-based alternatives. This gap continues to impact outcomes decades later.
Limited judicial options
When people with mental illness commit crimes, magistrates and judges often face severely limited alternatives. Prison may be the only available option because:
- No alternative system exists to address the complex needs of mentally ill offenders
- Community mental health services have limited resources
- Health services may be unwilling to accept people with criminal charges
- Lack of special facilities within the justice system for people with mental illness
Public mental health system limitations
The public mental health system can be reluctant to manage the complicated issues of a mentally ill person who has been arrested for criminal behaviour. Even when a judge recommends health service treatment:
- Treatment may be denied
- The person may quickly reappear in court
- The cycle of offending continues
This creates a "revolving door" effect where individuals with mental illness cycle repeatedly through the criminal justice system without receiving the treatment they need. The justice system becomes a substitute for the mental health system, despite being ill-equipped for this role.
Socioeconomic factors
People with mental health problems typically experience multiple disadvantages that compound their difficulties:
- Lower levels of education and reduced literacy skills
- Inability to complete schooling
- Reduced employment opportunities
- Limited funds for housing, food and medication
- Worsening mental health due to unemployment and poverty
These factors create a self-reinforcing cycle where mental illness leads to socioeconomic disadvantage, which in turn worsens mental health outcomes and increases the likelihood of contact with the criminal justice system.
Funding gaps
Inadequate government funding for community-based health services means many people with mental illness inevitably end up in the prison system rather than receiving appropriate healthcare. This represents a failure of both the health and justice systems to provide adequate support.
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
Scheme overview
Introduced in May 2013 under Prime Minister Julia Gillard with support from all states and territories. The scheme is funded by an increase in the Medicare levy from 1.5% to 2.0% (effective from 1 July 2014). The NDIS aims to provide:
- Lifetime support based on individual needs
- Early intervention when support can make a substantial difference
- Greater choice for people with disabilities, families and carers
The NDIS represented a fundamental shift in disability support policy, moving from a welfare-based model to a rights-based approach that emphasizes individual choice and control.
Effectiveness assessment
As of 2015, it was too early to make definitive judgments about the NDIS's long-term effectiveness for people with mental illness. However, several concerns were evident about the scheme's ability to reach those most in need.
Critical Concerns:
- Many people with mental health issues had already "slipped through the cracks" before the scheme's introduction
- Questions remained about whether those most in need could access the scheme
- The complexity of the application process posed barriers for vulnerable individuals
Citizens' jury findings (2015)
A citizens' jury examined the NDIS trial sites and found both positive outcomes and significant areas requiring improvement.
Positive outcomes:
- Already giving people with disabilities more independence
- Improved quality of life for participants
- Participants felt their voices were being heard for the first time
- Overall assessment: "a strong pass with areas for improvement"
Areas requiring improvement:
Planner experience levels - NDIS planners who create care plans need better skills, particularly in communicating with people who have intellectual disabilities or mental illness
Speed of rollout - Some disability services were being withdrawn too quickly, causing gaps in support as the NDIS expanded
Communication issues - Planners were "not very good at communicating with people with intellectual disabilities," making it difficult for those with intellectual disability or mental illness to be properly heard
The communication barriers between planners and participants with mental illness or intellectual disabilities represent a critical flaw in the scheme's implementation. Without effective communication, the NDIS cannot properly assess needs or provide appropriate support.
Cost and scale
The scheme will eventually cost $22 billion per year, making its effectiveness crucial for public policy and fiscal management. This represents one of the largest social policy investments in Australian history.
Conclusion: ongoing challenges
The legal system has policies and procedures designed to support people with mental illness, but significant obstacles remain:
Systemic barriers:
- The nature of mental illness means some sufferers cannot or will not access support mechanisms
- Lack of adequate funding continues to limit effectiveness
- Those who write, maintain and enforce the law often lack sufficient understanding of mental health issues
Continuing issues:
- Both society and the legal system struggle to provide adequate support
- Police training, while improved, still shows gaps in critical situations
- High imprisonment rates persist due to lack of alternatives
- Community support services remain underfunded
Future outlook:
While initiatives like MHIT and the NDIS represent progress, fundamental challenges in funding, understanding and access mean that achieving justice for people with mental illness remains an ongoing struggle requiring sustained attention and resources. Effective reform requires not just policy changes but adequate funding, proper training, and genuine commitment to implementation.
Key Points to Remember:
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Police responses have improved but remain inadequate - The MHIT program aims to train officers in mental health crisis response, but fatal incidents continue to occur, showing significant gaps remain
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High imprisonment rates reflect systemic failure - People with mental illness end up in prison due to inadequate community support, limited judicial options, and lack of alternative facilities
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The NDIS shows early promise but faces challenges - Initial findings suggest improved independence and quality of life, but concerns exist about planner training, rollout speed, and whether the most vulnerable can access support
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Multiple barriers prevent effective support - Lack of funding, insufficient understanding by legal professionals, and the nature of mental illness itself create ongoing obstacles to achieving justice
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Case studies demonstrate real-world consequences - The deaths of Adam Salter and Roberto Curti reveal how inadequate training and procedures can have fatal results, emphasising the urgent need for continued reform