| Login | Site Map | Contact Us | |
|
Mindframe for Police and CourtsThe Australian Government's Mindframe National Media Initiative (Mindframe Initiative) aims to encourage responsible, accurate and sensitive media representation of mental illness and suicide; and to advocate on behalf of community concerns relating to media depictions that stigmatise mental illness or promote self-harm. The Mindframe for Police and Courts Project forms part of this initiative and follows recognition of the fact that the police and courts in Australia are major sources of information for the media when preparing stories about mental health issues. In addition, the authors of the 2000-01 Media Monitoring Project found that the most problematic type of news coverage of mental illness results from information collected at courts and coroner’s courts or from police. In February 2007, The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing (the Department) funded the Hunter Institute of Mental Health (HIMH) to work with consultants and partners to implement the project in the following three phases:
1. Scoping study
2. Resource development
3. Resource dissemination and evaluation
Phase One of the project - the scoping study - was completed in July 2007. It included extensive consultation with representatives of the police and courts across Australia, as well as a review of available media policies, a critical literature review, three months of Media Monitoring and a series of consultations with journalists.
The scoping study found support for the provision of resources to the target groups and offered insight into the specifics of the relationships between police, courts and the media, particularly with relation to suicide and mental illness.
Phase Two of the project - the development of sector appropriate resources - was completed in May 2008. In order to facilitate this phase, an Advisory Group was recruited to offer guidance to the project team from expert representatives of the sector.
Following the first meeting of the Advisory Group in November 2007, the project team developed resource booklets for police officers and for judicial officers and other courts personnel.
Supporting the information containted in the printed resources, two new sections were added to the existing Mindframe website. These contained specific information for both the police and court sectors, and allowed visitors to access electronic copies of the resources and any other relevant documents.
As the number of resource books was limited in comparison to the large number of police officers in Australia, dissemination of the resources was restricted to senior officers and those with a specific role in either media relations or mental health. To ensure that the project had the widest possible reach, a Quick Reference Card was also developed to summarise the resources booklet. There were 10, 000 copies of this resource printed for dissemination. The Third Phase of the project commenced in June 2008 and involved the dissemination and evaluation of the resources. As of December 2008, there have been 1,139 Courts resource books and 2,941 Police resource booklets disseminated throughout the target groups. There have also been 2,933 copies of the Police Quick Reference Card distributed. Evaluation of the resources began in late 2008. As of December 2008, there were 39 surveys completed by Police personnel and 44 surveys completed by Courts personnel. Analysis of these surveys indicates a positive response to the resources and the project. Most respondents indicated that they would use the resources in the future and would welcome professional development opportunities. Further evaluation is ongoing and will be analysed and reported in the Final Report in May 2009. Enquiries about this project can be directed to Victoria Clack (Senior Project Officer) on (02) 4924 6931 or
|
