News

The North London Forensic Collaborative is leading a new Integrated Non-Custodial Service across the boroughs of North London, which will include Liaison and Diversion in all police custody suites, including Metropolitan, City of London, British Transport Police and Marine Policing unit in addition to Magistrates and Crown Courts. The pathway of services will also include a new Primary Care Men’s Mental Health Treatment Requirement Service. This will for the first time in London, provide Probation with a greater range of community order options. 

This new seven-year contract commences on the 1st of November 2025 and is being delivered by North London Forensic Collaborative for North London, South London Mental Health and Community Partnership for South London and Waythrough, a UK registered charity, who will provide a pan-London Community Link Worker Service. 

The new Non-Custodial Liaison and Diversion service provides a specialist mental health assessment for people of all ages, genders and vulnerabilities (mental health and psychosocial concerns, neurodiverse conditions, substance misuse), designed to intervene at the earliest opportunity when a person comes into contact with the criminal justice system. This typically begins at the point of police contact, where people are identified for any potential vulnerabilities. The service model follows four stages: case identification, screening, assessment and onward referral. 

Men's Mental Health Treatment Requirements is now included as part of the Non-Custodial Liaison and Diversion service, recognising the links between mental health difficulties and many types of offending and risk​, to provide a pathway to further treatment and recovery. This service offers an alternative to a custodial sentence, with pre-sentence assessment and treatment as part of a community order.  Men's Mental Health Treatment Requirements includes a range of psychological interventions such as psychoeducation, emotional skill development, cognitive behaviour therapy, and all interventions are trauma informed, co-produced and individualised. 

The Non-Custodial Liaison and Diversion service aims to play a crucial role in providing real-time, essential information to decision-makers in the justice system, particularly during the charging and sentencing phases for these vulnerable people. With a unified approach and by fostering robust partnerships, this new service aims to improve outcomes for service users while contributing to wider goals of health equity and public safety within the Criminal Justice System. 

For more information contact: 

Sarah Avery
Marketing and Communications Lead - North London Forensic Collaborative  
Email: Sarah.avery4@nhs.net