Troubled teenagers still being locked up
Place of Safety marks milestone, as police vow to improve
Troubled youngsters struggling with mental health issues are still being locked up in prison a year after Scarborough’s first place of safety opened.
But the number of people put behind bars for their own safety after being detained under t he mental heal t h ac t has plummeted since the Cross Lane centre opened last January.
Despite North Yorkshire Police saying custody is “no place” for people suffering with mental health issues, figures disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act show that two people per week were detained in cells across the region in 2014, a total which included seven under 18s.
But with a change in legislation set to stop j ails being used as a place of safety for troubled youngsters, and plans afoot for a fourth place of safety in the west of the region, the figures are likely to fall even more next year. “It’s a vast improvement to the situation a year ago,” said Police Commissioner Julia Mulligan.
She spoke after visiting Scarborough’s place of safety on Monday, a venue she aggressively campaigned for due to it being the last place in the country not to have one.
“The most important thing is that it’s an asset to people with mental health issues who need it.”
But while the centre has helped to dramatically re - duce the number of people with mental health issues being kept in prisons or hospitals the situation still isn’t perfect.
Teenagers, including a violent 17-year-old, are detained there until a bed becomes free. Sometimes they are taken to custody because they’ve committed a crime or are resistant.
However, Mrs Mulligan says in Scarborough they have only been kept there for a matter of hours, and their cases don’t mimic that of a Cornish 16-year-old girl, who hit the headlines last year after she was detained in jail for two days.
Asked if it was right teenag- ers were still being detained, the commissioner said, instinctively, she “would say no”.
But she said each case differs, adding: “You have to rely on the judgement of the police and the professionals.”
Those professionals i nclude the street triage team, who last year, saw 1,000 people with mental health difficulties. Next week, they will go before the region’s Clinical Commissioning Group to try and increase its budget to £300,000 for next year, which i f successful, the commissioner said would make a big difference in improving performance.
But the figures, disclosed under the Freeom of Information Act, show improvements are already under way.
In total 111 were sectioned in 2014, down from 33 the year previous. The number of under 18s more than halved.
Deputy Chief Constable Tim Madgwick praised the “significant reduction” in people detained, but said there was still work to do.
“Police custody is no place for anyone suffering from a mental health crisis and North Yorkshire Police is working continuously with the NHS and other organisations to improve access to mental health services for people in crisis who come into contact with the emergency services.
“We are also working with partners including the NHS, councils and ambulance service, towards a situation where no-one under the age of 18 who is in mental health crisis is taken into police custody.”
‘It’s a vast improvement on a year ago’ Julia Mulligan Crime Commissioner