Review of European Studies; Vol. 9, No. 2; 2017 ISSN 1918-7173 E-ISSN 1918-7181 Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education 248 Policing, Crime and Mental Illness in England and Wales: Insights from the Literature Frank Kitt 1 & Colin Rogers 1 1 International Centre for Policing and Security, University of South Wales, Pontypridd, UK Correspondence: Colin Rogers, International Centre for Policing and Security, University of South Wales, Pontypridd, UK. E-mail: colin.rogers@southwales.ac.uk Received: April 10, 2017 Accepted: April 25, 2017 Online Published: May 9, 2017 doi:10.5539/res.v9n2p248 URL: http://doi.org/10.5539/res.v9n2p248 Abstract Mental illness pervades most societies, but it is only recently that its impact and effects upon individuals has slowly been recognised in England and Wales. When people suffering from this illness become involved with various public agencies, the way they are dealt with appears inconsistent and on occasions ends in tragedy. One agency that is constantly in contact with people who suffer mental health illness is the police service. Some high profile cases have clearly illustrated misunderstandings and the fact that the police are not generally equipped to deal with such individuals. This article considers a brief history and theoretical backcloth to police understanding and framing of mental illness in England and Wales, and explores the National Liaison and Diversion Model as an alternative to traditional police understanding and response. The article suggests that only by understanding the historical context, and literature, surrounding mental illness, can improvements be made in the criminal justice system as a whole and within the police service in particular. Keywords: police, mental illness, criminal justice, diversion model 1. Introduction Much Madness is divinest Sense To a discerning Eye Much Sense-the starkest Madness ’Tis the Majority In this, as all, prevail Assent-and you are sane Demur-you’re straightway dangerous And handled with a Chain From Life by Emily Dickinson in Appignanesi (2008) The eloquence and simplicity of Emily Dickinson’s outlook on the philosophical, political and sociological interactions of mental illness was published in 1890 and flowed from her personal experiences and emotional reactions but they held little sway in an age where science wasnow captivating the imagination of the influential. The chains of social control mechanisms evident via labelling, restrictive controls, exclusion or detention have a long history, periodically reinforced within our cultural responses in legislation. For policing this has meant attempting to provide a response to mental illness from within a mainly punitive framework. 2. Historical View Since the Vagrancy Acts of 1714 and 1744, the “furiously mad and dangerous” were allowed to be restrained and detained (Vaughan & Badger, 1995; Thomas, 2016). Bentham’s Utilitarianism concepts of “the greatest happiness to the greatest number” have remained from his grand project. They defined social parameters of conformity and deviance via constructs of morality and ultimately criminal and health legislation (Harrison, 1995). Walker (1968) speaks of long conflicts between judicial expediency and Utilitarianism. Heard (1997) illustrates the chief necessity of universal human rights is to provide a counter to societies and governments driven to surrender individual or minority rights in favour of the collective. Human rights are particularly susceptible to