Joint activity systems within the boundary space between mental health and correctional services: the leadership perspective.

Abstract

Mental illness is high in prison populations internationally (Fazel & Danesh, 2002) and is one risk factor directly and indirectly linked to reoffending rates (Armstrong, 2012; Sapouna, 2015) (Chang, Larsson, Lichtenstein, & Fazel, 2015)(Skeem & Peterson, 2011). Specialised mental health and correctional services are required to collaborate to address this and the importance of this kind of interagency working is recognized by the Europe wide Justice Cooperation Network, (2012). Despite their recommendations to optimize interagency working, little is known about what characterises collaborative practice in this context. The aim of this paper is to build an understanding of this collaborative activity using cultural historical activity systems theory as an underpinning and the joint activity of mental health and prison services in the Norwegian context as a case study. This insight will guide future interventions designed to enhance joint working between these highly differentiated and often fragmented systems and improve the mental health of offenders in the long term.