Liaison and Diversion
For many offenders who have a mental health issue or vulnerability, prison can make their situation worse. Nearly half of all prisoners have anxiety or depression, and nearly a third of all 13-18 year olds who offend have a mental health issue.
Liaison and Diversion (L&D) services exist to identify offenders who have mental health, learning disability or substance misuse vulnerabilities when they first come into contact with the criminal justice system.
These services identify mental health issues and vulnerabilities that offenders may have so that they can either be supported through the criminal system pathway or diverted into a treatment, social care service or other relevant intervention or support service. L&D services aim to improve health outcomes, reduce re-offending and identify vulnerabilities earlier, thus reducing the likelihood that offenders will reach crisis-point.
Navigate through our L&D pages to learn more about the programme, trial schemes and how you can receive regular updates.
Get involved
Subscribe to our bulletin and view the latest editions.
You can also contribute case studies on how your area is operating the standard service specification for our bulletin and website via the case study page.
Follow the Liaison and Diversion Programme on Twitter