Brian Dickey: Auckland crown solicitor on huge delay in court ordered psychiatric reports leading to charges being dismissed

A huge delay in court ordered psychiatric reports is leading to criminal charges being dismissed, added stress on victims and offenders being locked up for longer than the law allows.
Between January 2017 and March this year there have been 8734 cases where a psych report has been ordered.
Under the Mentally Impaired Persons Act mental health must get that report back to the courts within 14-30 days but that timeframe is frequently being ignored.
It's down to a shortage of psychiatrists and psychologists and an increase in demand for the reports.
Auckland crown solicitor Brian Dickey joined Mike Hosking.
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