Dr. Alan Cusack & Professor Gautam Gulati Invited to Address High Level Taskforce on Mental Illness and the Criminal Justice System

On Thursday, 2 June 2021, Dr. Alan Cusack (School of Law) and Professor Gautam Gulati (School of Medicine & School of Law) of the University of Limerick were invited to address a High Level Taskforce (HLTF) relating to people with mental illness who come in contact with the criminal justice system.

Dr Cusack and Prof. Gulati addressed the Diversion Subgroup (Subgroup 1) of the HLTF. This Subgroup, which was chaired by Chief Superintendent Gerard Roche, was established to revitalise a recommendation by an Interdepartmental Group that An Garda Síochána implement a diversion policy for use in suitable cases when members come in contact with adults with mental illness who may have committed a minor offence.

Superintendent Andrew Lacey of the School of Law, who is a sitting and permanent member on the HLTF, was also in attendance at the meeting and has played a key role in the development and advancement of the diversion pilot project.

At the meeting, Dr. Cusack and Prof. Gulati were invited to contribute their views as to the appropriate definitional criteria that should be used when designing the eligibility criteria for accessing the pilot diversion scheme.

This contribution builds on a series of other collaborative initiatives that have been undertaken by Dr. Cusack, Professor Gulati, Professor Shane Kilcommins and Professor Colum Dunne in recent months, including:

· Drafting an easy-read Notice of Rights Form C.72(s) for suspects with intellectual disabilities in Ireland;

· Delivering a pilot disability awareness training programme for students on the BA in Applied Policing and MA in Serious Crime Investigation;

· Acting as research partner, Superintendent Andrew Lacey, for the rollout of a Crisis Intervention Team on a pilot basis in Limerick city.