ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the authors discuss the challenges for people with forensic risk or histories when accessing services in the community. They draw attention to the problems in how society and services conceptualise the needs of this population as fitting into either services focused on health, or those focused on criminal justice, as well as thresholds and boundaries these services have, which often excludes many people from this population. The authors reflect on these issues, illustrating them with service user stories, and consider both some of the origins of these problems, and what might be needed to improve the situation. There is also attention to the positive signs of change and progress evident in the arenas of health and criminal justice; the Offender Personality Disorder strategy and some of the work coming from the British Psychological Society are referenced in particular.