Northern Police Research Webinar – Republic of Ireland: Human Rights, Policing and Mental Health – Implementing a National Community Safety Co-Response Model in Ireland
(Ended 15th Nov 2024)
Online
15th Nov 2024 to 15th Nov 2024
Fri 15 Nov 2024 11:00 AM – 12:15 PM GMT Online, Microsoft Teams
Presenters: Andrew Lacey, Alan Cusack & Bláithín O’Shea
In 2009, a landmark report published by the Mental Health Commission and An Garda Síochána, proposed the introduction in Ireland of a health-led response to individuals with acute mental health crises. Fifteen years later, this recommendation finally looks set to be realised in the guise of a Community Access Support Teams (CAST) programme which will be launched, on a pilot basis, in October 2024. Inspired by the success of similar co-response models globally, the CAST programme will, according to the Minister for Justice, be comprised of “specialist uniformed units who will work jointly with health professionals to provide a rapid and integrated 24/7 response to people with mental health issues”. In anticipation of the launch of this innovative health-led, collaborative policing programme, this paper surveys Ireland’s existing policing apparatus in the context of addressing the needs of individuals with mental health crises and provides an overview of the features of the new CAST programme and its significant potential to more meaningfully vindicate the rights of some of the most vulnerable members of Irish society. This research is funded by the Irish Research Council.
Andrew Lacey is a Superintendent in An Garda Siochana (Irish Police), joining in 2001 after graduating with a BA in Insurance & European Studies from the University of Limerick. Over his career Andrew has served in Community Policing, Crime Investigation and Training in Dublin, Limerick, Clare and Tipperary. Andrew was awarded LLB in Law (Graduate Entry) in 2008 and a BA in Human Recourse Management in 2010 with the University of Limerick. In 2013, he completed Masters in Criminal Law (LLM) in University College Cork (UCC). Within his move to training within AGS Andrew progressed to Crime Management Skills where he was appointed the Course Director of the Postgraduate Diploma in Serious Crime Investigation, a programme accredited by University of Limerick. Andrew completed his PhD research with the University of Limerick (Centre Crime Justice Victim Studies) in 2023. The research examined the departure from adversarialism in the Irish Criminal Justice process and the emerging transition towards dispositive justice and diversion. In 2021 Andrew was appointed as the implementation team leader for the establishment of the first Co Responder crisis intervention programme in Ireland which involves significant multiagency collaborations and originated as a recommendation under the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland report 2018. In 2022, Andrew was awarded funding under Strand 10 of the Irish Research Council New Foundations Scheme in partnership with the Policing Authority. This research brought researchers and international practitioners together for a symposium and resulted in the publication of research report that has had tangible impact on the co responder pilot design. Andrew is a member of the Governments High Level Taskforce on the mental health and addiction challenges of persons interacting with the criminal justice system. Andrew also sits on Connecting for Life implementation group that is coordinated by the HSE National Office for Suicide Prevention. Andrew is currently based in the Limerick Garda Division.
Dr. Alan Cusack, University of Limerick. Alan is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Limerick where he also holds the position of Director of Policing Studies. He is qualified solicitor and a graduate of University College Cork (BCL, LLM, PhD), University College Dublin (Dip. Emp) and the Law Society of Ireland (Solicitor, 2012). Alan’s research on the intersection of vulnerability and the criminal process has been widely published in national and international journals. He was a co-author of Criminal Law in Ireland (2021, Clarus Press) and is currently completing a monograph entitled Victims of Crime with Intellectual Disabilities and the Criminal Process: Adversarial Procedure on Trial (Routledge, 2025). He has acted as an Expert Advisor to the Minister for Justice, Garda Commissioner, the European Commission, Rape Crisis Network Ireland, and the Department of Justice and he has provided expert analysis on the treatment of vulnerable witnesses for national media outlets in Ireland.
Bláithín O’Shea is a Teaching Assistant in the School of Law, University of Limerick (UL). She graduated from UL with a first-class honours LLB in 2017, following which she was awarded the James Healy Scholarship to undertake an LLM in UCD. After being awarded the competitive Honourable Mr. Justice John Murray PhD Fellowship in 2019, Bláithín began her doctoral studies under the joint supervision of Dr Susan Leahy and Dr Alan Cusack in UL. Bláithín’s research examines the principle of prison as a last resort for persons with intellectual disabilities in the Irish criminal justice system. Her research interweaves human rights law, penology and criminal justice to examine the unique vulnerabilities experienced by persons with intellectual disabilities within the prison environment and to propose a shift towards community-based sanctions and measures for this cohort. She has disseminated her research at a number of national and international conferences including those organised by the Irish Association of Law Teachers, the Socio-Legal Studies Association, and the British Society of Criminology. She is a member of the Centre for Crime, Justice & Victims Studies in UL and the British Society of Criminology’s Vulnerability Research Network.