ALUN THOMAS
COLUMNIST
A FEW weeks ago we held a seminar looking at mental health and the criminal justice system.
The subject is a significant one for our clients: many people with a mental illness come into contact with the criminal justice system because of their illness.
Often failure to identify them early on in the process can lead to them becoming more unwell and more involved in a system which was not set up to deal with their needs.
The “Reducing Risk – Achieving Recovery” seminar was the culmination of a summer-long campaign led by service user Jo Roberts.
The campaign included a survey which 300 people completed, the majority of whom are directly affected by mental illness.
The results of the survey are very interesting, if unsurprising.
One of the key purposes of the campaign was to ask people affected by mental illness how things can be improved in the criminal justice system.
And one of the overwhelming responses is that mental health training is vital – for police, for judges and court staff, and for prison staff.
And respondents feel strongly that the training should be delivered by – or should at least involve – people with experience of mental illness, and particularly those who have been in crisis, so that criminal justice staff get to understand the despair, distress and challenges faced by those with a mental illness.
The importance of prevention was recognised by many taking part in the survey, with a number of respondents identifying the need for rapid crisis intervention to prevent people who are unwell from becoming engaged in the criminal justice system in the first place.
There is some work to do in diverting people with a serious mental illness from the criminal justice system.
Court diversion schemes enable people to be assessed by mental health professionals during the court process, prior to being sentenced.
It is essential that these schemes are available across Wales in order to identify people with a serious mental illness and ensure that they end up in an appropriate hospital environment as opposed to prison.
Unfortunately a disproportionately high number of people with a mental illness end up in prison, even though prison is the most inappropriate place for them.
Respondents to our survey have called for treatment in prison to extend beyond medication, and there is a clear need to address the “cliff-edge” of little or no support on discharge.
Jo Roberts, who led the “Reducing Risk – Achieving Recovery” campaign, has valuable personal experience of mental health services and the criminal justice system having been remanded in prison, spent time in the Caswell Clinic and Ashworth Hospital among other institutions, and having been under a Home Office Section 37/41 for many years.
Jo told us: “The ‘Reducing Risk – Achieving Recovery’ campaign goes right to heart of what I stand for – respectful and kindly care and treatment which keeps everybody safe but also gives real hope and the prospect of recovery.
“There have been some improvements over the years but there are still too many people suffering in prison when they need hospital care or receiving only medical treatment when they need holistic care and treatment which helps them move on and make a good life for themselves.
“Let’s work together to change the outcomes for this most marginalised and neglected group of people in both the health and the justice systems. I know so many of them well and they deserve better.”
This is what Hafal members intend to do in the coming years: we will report back to the Welsh Government and criminal justice agencies about our campaign, and we will make an offer to work with them to improve the lives of a very vulnerable group who deserve much better.
Alun Thomas is chief executive of mental health charity Hafal