Liaison and Diversion Court Practitioner

The Norfolk & Suffolk Liaison and Diversion service provides a quality vulnerability screening and advice service to agencies and individuals who are going through the criminal justice system. Individuals may present in police custody or at the court stage. An exciting opportunity has arisen within our service to recruit a full time court based band 6 Liaison and Diversion practitioner
- servicing the Magistrates and Crown courts sites in Norwich, Norfolk.

Please note that if you do not have court experience, you will be supported by a knowledgeable court lead and training can be provided to improve your knowledge base. We want to develop your existing skills and strengths in order for you to feel confident when executing the main duties of the job. We would be happy to speak with you about the role if you have any question before applying.

Your primary role will be to establish strong working relationships with agencies and services working within Crown Court settings. You will possess excellent interpersonal skills that will enable you to challenge, motivate, influence and inspire your colleagues at all levels. As part of a small team you will work within the courts and with the probation service. You will also be part of the wider Liaison and Diversion service which operates across both Norfolk and Suffolk in the Police Investigation Centres.

The practitioner will work out of the courts, screening individuals, providing information and advice to a range of agencies (judiciary, probation, & defence solicitors etc), including completion of court reports giving consideration for reasonable adjustments and special measures, the role of Mental Health Treatment Requirements, understanding when to request a psychiatric and/or psychology report, etc. The practitioner will also have an understanding of Part III of the Mental Health Act.

**Benefits**:
**Benefits included with this role are**:
- NHS pension
A comprehensive in house & external training programmes
Career progression
Starting annual leave of 27 days per annum increasing to 33 days pa based on length of service (plus paid bank holidays)
Staff physio service
Gym membership
NHS discounts and many more

Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing their experiences and learning from each other.

NSFT is committed to lifelong learning and continuous professional development (CPD) for its entire staff. There are a variety of definitions of CPD across the professions, but it is usually taken to mean learning activities which update existing skills.

CPD is determined through appraisal with a personal development plan agreed between an individual and their manager, with the commitment of the necessary time and resources.

Main duties of the job

Your primary role will be to establish strong working relationships with agencies and services working within Court settings. You will possess excellent interpersonal skills that will enable you to challenge, motivate, influence and inspire your colleagues at all levels.

The remit of a Crown Court Liaison and Diversion practitioner will be:
To advise on the MHA 1983 (amended 2007), especially Part III. (Part III of the 1983 Mental Health Act (amended 2007) covers patients concerned with criminal proceedings). With mental health law arising comparatively rarely in barristers’ experience, they may value assistance from the Liaison and Diversion Service navigating mental health pathways.

A good working knowledge of the Criminal Procedures and Insanity legislation governing unfitness to plead, insanity, and alternative disposals.

A good working knowledge of risk analysis, to advise the Court whether pre-sentence psychiatric reports should explicitly address risk.

Knowledge of potential special experts in forensic psychology and forensic psychiatry, to understand whether experts are available at short notice or have additional areas of expertise e.g. neuro-psychiatry and neuro-psychology etc.

An understanding of responsibility for assessments and reports on defendants aged below 18. A need to be aware of referral mechanisms, who may act as special experts and under what conditions.

Knowledge of the role and function of court appointed intermediaries.

A good working knowledge of available General Adult Mental Health Services, Substance Misuse Services, Learning Disability Services, Children and Adolescent Services (CAMHS) and Old Age Psychiatry. - An understanding of the role of the National Offender Management Service Public Protection & Mental Health Group.

Where the Crown Court has a catchment area wider than that of the provider of the L&D service, the ability to establish formal links with all L&D services whose police stations and magistrates’ courts feed into that Crown Court.

An understanding of what services the prison mental health services and primary care services provide.

The ability to establish strong workin