Homeless patient in jail bind

A diagnosed schizophrenic is languishing in prison, where he has become increasingly unwell, after being made homeless by the state while behind bars.

With no address available for bail, Glenn Beloe has spent more than two months in jail, where a prison psychiatrist says he has become acutely psychotic, experiencing hallucinations and believes that he is being persecuted.

Beloe, 38, was living in a Housing New Zealand (HNZ) flat in New Plymouth but on February 9 the Tenancy Tribunal granted an order to evict him four days after he was placed on custodial remand for a charge of threats to kill.

His charge, to which he has pleaded not guilty, related to threats to kill his neighbour.

It is understood his eviction was related to ongoing damage done to the property while Beloe lived there.

Beloe is a diagnosed schizophrenic and was subject to a compulsory treatment order, or CTO, when he lived in the community. But while in prison, his mental health needs are going untreated.

His CTO cannot be enforced behind bars, which means he has not had any medication since his incarceration began.

Despite this, the New Plymouth District Court heard on Friday that due to his level of charge he was not a priority to access forensic mental health services in prison, which were already subject to high demand.

At the hearing, a dishevelled Beloe sat in the dock, babbling loudly to himself.

Beloe’s lawyer, Megan Boyd, said her client’s current situation stemmed from the fact he was evicted from his HNZ home, leaving him with no place to go.

An appointment for Beloe was specially arranged on Friday with his regular psychiatrist from the Taranaki District Health Board, in the hope he would be admitted to Te Puna Waiora, the region’s secure mental health unit.

But this possibility was quashed when the doctor said Beloe’s ‘‘presentation’’ had not changed nor had his risk so there was no need to admit him.

This decision, which was emailed to Boyd during the subsequent court hearing on Friday afternoon, was met with obvious disbelief by her and the police prosecutor. It is also tied the hands of Judge Stephen Harrop, who had little choice but to remand Beloe back into custody.

He said Beloe was in a ‘‘catch 22’’ situation on a variety of levels.

While in prison he was not getting the treatment he appeared to urgently require, but he was not seen as needing inpatient treatment available to him in the community.

The judge also said if Beloe changed his plea to the threats to kill charge, he would have likely been sentenced to time served, but due to his acute psychosis, there were now a question mark over his ability to participate in the court process at all.

Judge Harrop highlighted his desire for the case to be sorted out as soon as possible before he ordered a report be prepared under the Criminal Procedure (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act, which will screen whether Beloe is fit to plead and stand trial.

Beloe will re-appear in court again on May 3.

Meanwhile, Boyd said HNZ’s decision to evict Beloe had ‘‘appalled’’ her.

She said within HNZ’s statement of intent, it had a goal of helping the most vulnerable people.

‘‘If that’s not Glenn, who is that?,’’ Boyd asked.

In a written response to questions, a HNZ spokesperson said as Beloe was before the court, the agency was limited in what it was able to say .

However, the spokesperson said HNZ ‘‘very rarely gives eviction notices’’ and that seeking an end to a tenancy was a ‘‘last resort’’.