Specialist courts and borderline personality disorder: a pilot study of the efficacy of the assessment and referral court list to reduce recidivist behaviour
Journal of Criminal Psychology
ISSN: 2009-3829
Article publication date: 31 March 2023
Issue publication date: 27 November 2023
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the ways in which the criminal justice system has evolved to accommodate mental illness. Mental health courts are one such alternative; these courts actively seek rehabilitative and therapeutic outcomes for participants. However, current literature suggests that these courts are ineffective for offenders who have been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD).
Design/methodology/approach
The aim of the current inquiry was to determine the degree to which participation in the Assessment and Referral Court (ARC) List in the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria reduced re-offending rates for offenders diagnosed with BPD by providing a comparative analysis of pre and post ARC List offending.
Findings
The results of a two-year recidivism study suggest that successful completion of the ARC List reduces recidivism for 50% of offenders diagnosed with BPD.
Originality/value
To the authoring team’s knowledge, this is the second paper to explore the efficacy of the Assessment of Referral Court List (Magistrates’ Court of Victoria) in reducing recidivist behaviours for programme participants; however, it is the first paper to look specifically at the recidivist behaviours of participants of the Assessment of Referral Court List (Magistrates’ Court of Victoria) who have been diagnosed with BPD.
Keywords
Citation
Chesser, B., Smith, K., Sigamoney, A. and Becker, C. (2023), "Specialist courts and borderline personality disorder: a pilot study of the efficacy of the assessment and referral court list to reduce recidivist behaviour", Journal of Criminal Psychology, Vol. 13 No. 4, pp. 282-299. https://doi.org/10.1108/JCP-10-2022-0027
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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