[Dion]

Vincent Li Case demonstrates need for mental-health reform

Author Debra Parkes is an associate professor in the faculty of law at the University of Manitoba.

First, recidivism by people found NCR is very low. While it is never possible to reduce the risk to zero, we know violent acts committed by people who are in the community under the NCR system are extremely rare. The National Trajectory Project, which recently studied more than 1,800 NCR cases in Canada, found people whose NCR verdict involved a serious violent offence had a very low recidivism rate of less than one per cent for new violent offences.

Second, many people who are mentally ill are in the corrections system, where they generally get little treatment and are substantially more likely to reoffend on release than those found NCR. The Canadian Psychiatric Association says those with mental illness are five to six times more likely to reoffend when they have gone through the prison system than when they have been in the NCR system.

Third, these tragic, high-profile cases involving NCR accused generally involve people who tried to access mental health care in the community and who did not get the care they required. Numerous reports, including those by the national Mental Health Commission, show mental health services in the community are inadequate and putting resources there is the road to prevention of harm.

Responding to public fear fuelled by misinformation, the previous federal government passed legislation injecting a punitive element that has no principled place in the NCR process and limiting rights of review in a manner that may well violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The unfortunate thing about seeking further limits on when and how a person found NCR in a high-profile case might be released is it does nothing to prevent similar tragic deaths. The real need is with those who are not getting adequate treatment in the community before they have a serious episode such as the one experienced by Baker. In his and other high-profile cases, the warning signs were there and attempts to seek appropriate treatment in the community were unsuccessful.

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