Discovering mental ill health: ‘Problem-solving’ in an english magistrates’ court

Abstract

In this chapter, we examine one particular approach to problem-solving in the English criminal justice system. The incorporation of problem-solving into Magistrates’ Courts for low-risk offenders has been called a ‘window of opportunity’ (Donoghue, 2014) insofar as it provides an opportunity to engage with ‘hard-to-reach’ social groups. It aims to identify any problems which are acting as barriers to a better life and signpost the person to services which can help address these problems. One of the aims of the project that we have been conducting on community justice is to examine how problem-solving works as a specific set of practices for those with mental ill health problems.