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Criminal legal issues

Criminal legal issues that were raised during consultations included:

• behaviour-related criminal offences (including offensive conduct and assault)
• drug-related criminal offences (including theft)⁶³
• fines (e.g. transport fines) particularly for young homeless people with a mental illness.

Consultations indicated that people with a mental illness may be charged with offences relating to behaviour arising from their illness (such as offensive language and conduct, assault, resisting arrest and assaulting police).⁶⁴

As a general rule it’s usually public disorder … where they bring themselves under notice due to their actions. Apart from that, it’s generally assault where somebody has walked up to someone else and hit them.⁶⁵

The Burdekin Report noted that the behaviour of people with a mental illness who are untreated can bring them to the attention of the police:

Untreated mental illness clearly causes some people to behave irresponsibly, irrationally and in a bizarre fashion. Sometimes this behaviour brings people to the attention of the police.6⁶

A couple of legal service providers said that behaviour may also be drug- and alcohol-related.⁶⁷ For example:

A lot of our clients with mental health issues or alcohol problems get pulled up for offensive language. If they are walking a bit strangely or they look like they are under the influence, a police officer will pull them up. And if they give them an earful of abuse they get charged with offensive language.⁶⁸

Consultations also indicated that people with drug and alcohol problems may experience particular legal issues specifically related to drugs (such as possession) or to their financial situation (such as stealing).⁶⁹

He has schizophrenia [which is] often made worse by taking a variety of drugs. [He] was detained by railway police on a train for strange behaviour (he said he was hearing voices) and a small amount of marijuana dropped out of his pocket. He admitted everything and was charged with possession and released on bail.⁷⁰

Yeah, I got charged a while back. I got charged for car [theft], assault and grievous bodily harm. I was in for two and a half months. And then rehab for three months.⁷¹

I broke into cars and stole them, stripped them. Drugs do evil things to people. I’m a walking example.⁷²

A number of participants reported that they had fines that ranged in amount and seriousness. For example, one participant had a fine for riding a pushbike without a helmet.⁷³ Another had a parking fine.⁷⁴ Another had received a fine for smoking at a train station.⁷⁵ Two other participants had received fines and lost their drivers’ licences as a result of speeding.⁷⁶ One older participant reported that he had $12 000 in unpaid fines from another state.⁷⁷

Young people with a mental illness (especially those who are homeless) are particularly vulnerable to receiving fines for transport, traffic and graffiti-related offences:⁷⁸

I’ve received some pretty hefty fines for impulsive things that I am known to do. The fines have added up to $1600 or something. One was due to the fact that my driver licence had expired and I jumped in my car and got a speeding fine and a no-licence fine which is like $578. Then on top of that, train fines: having no ticket, running on the platform, lying about who I was, smoking on the platform.⁷⁹

Driving without a licence, graffiti, malicious damage. I got caught [doing graffiti] in a tunnel. I didn’t really think that it’d be that illegal, in a tunnel out in nowhere. I got charged and fined.⁸⁰

One of them [a fine] was issued when I was mentally unstable—I ran across the train tracks without using the train bridge.⁸¹