By Keith Lacey
Thanks to a groundbreaking new program which kicked off just last week at the Sudbury Courthouse, mentally ill adults who fall into conflict with the law will get the help they need within days rather than languishing inside jail cells.
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John Luczak |
Sudbury's Crown attorney's office, the local office of the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA), Greater Sudbury Police, defence lawyers, family members and accused persons suffering from mental illness will all benefit from the new mental health court, said Sudbury's Crown attorney John Luczak.
"Psychiatrists will now be available every Monday and Wednesday...they will be available for consultation with lawyers and family members and to perform fitness hearings right away, rather than making them (accused) spend days or weeks in custody," said Luczak.
"In the past, anyone with a mental illness who was arrested had to spend at least several days in custody."
Not only will a professional psychiatrist be available two days every week, but Jillian Romanko, mental health court outreach worker for the CMHA, will now have more time to access beds and professional help for clients who need it, said Luczak.
"It's now like one-stop shopping," he said. "The idea is to get these people help as soon as possible and in many cases we can often get them that help the day they are arrested."
A sample of how the new system will assist the mentally ill was played out at the courthouse last week.
A schizophrenic woman from Sault Ste. Marie, who was back on her medication and recovering well, was ordered fit to stand trial by a psychiatrist in front of a judge.
Court heard Romanko had accessed a bed for her at a woman's shelter in the Soo and the woman would be around friends and family by the end of the day rather than spending several days languishing in jail until her next court remand date.
The new program is a joint agreement between the Ministry of Health and the Corrections Department of the Ministry of the Solicitor General.
Once it's proven an adult committed a crime due to mental illness, the idea is to get that person back on medication and out of jail, said Luczak.
The accused must be recommended for release to ensure the community's safety.
While there must be a deterrent message sent, keeping the vast majority of mentally ill people incarcerated isn't the answer, he said.
Once an accused diagnosed with mental illness is on the road to recovery and deemed fit to stand trial or for release until trial, judges most often impose conditions which ensure mental health professionals will be in direct contact, he said.
As an example, if a mentally ill person is caught shoplifing, judges will impose a sentence where that person isn't allowed to attend local shopping centres during probation or while on bail. Sentences often include doing community work under the supervision of the CMHA as well, said Luczak.
"The new mental health court is an alternative to the normal justice system and it can be of real benefit to everyone in the system." he said. "This is all about trying to prevent people from falling through the cracks and getting people the help they need."
Greater Sudbury Police have gone as far as to provide a room where the psychiatrist can talk to patients, defence counsel and family members inside the courthouse.
The new system will try and work out a plan to ensure the accused is released from jail as quickly as possible, said Romanko, who has been the CMHA?s court outreach worker for just over one year.
Under the old system, mentally ill clients might not be able to meet with the jail psychiatrist for several days or in some cases a couple of weeks, but the new system provides immediate help every Monday and Wednesday, she said.
"The new system will facilitate being able to help these clients right away."
If a client isn't deemed fit for trial, the psychiatrist can order an immediate 30-day assessment at the North Bay Psychiatric Hospital, which is a better place for them than inside a jail cell, said Romanko.
The major goals are to assist the mentally ill in a timely fashion and get them professional help outside jail, while providing counselling and support services once they're on the road to recovery, said Romanko.
Jail staff aren't trained or prepared to deal with mentally ill inmates and the entire system will benefit under the new court, she said.
"What we need to realize is people with mental illness who do commit crimes fall under special circumstances and we need to deal with them in a special way," she said. "That's what this new program is all about."
