An investigation into the prevalence of mental health disorders in an English probation population: an overview

Existing literature and policy papers suggest that there is a paucity of research both within England and across Europe on the prevalence of mental illness and substance misuse amongst offenders under probation supervision. This paper provides an overview of a study which piloted a methodology for assessing the prevalence of mental health disorder and substance misuse amongst this group in the county of Lincolnshire, UK, and argues for the importance of conducting similar research in other areas of the UK and Europe. In addition, to the above, the study summarised here investigated offenders' self-reported health needs, and the extent to which they felt they were being met by existing service provision; the extent to which probation staff in this area were aware of and recording offenders' mental health and substance misuse problems and access to heatlh services; and staff and offender views on what facilitates and prevents access to heatlh services for offenders