{"id":1449,"date":"2018-02-06T14:52:19","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T14:52:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/?p=1449"},"modified":"2018-02-06T14:53:45","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T14:53:45","slug":"how-can-we-better-support-people-with-a-mental-illness-who-come-into-contact-with-the-criminal-justice-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.cardiff.ac.uk\/mental-health\/how-can-we-better-support-people-with-a-mental-illness-who-come-into-contact-with-the-criminal-justice-system\/","title":{"rendered":"How can we better support people with a mental illness who come into contact with the Criminal Justice System?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few months ago Hafal held a seminar looking at mental health and the Criminal Justice System. The subject is an important 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.<\/p>\n

The ‘Reducing Risk – Achieving Recovery’ seminar was the culmination of a summer-long campaign led by service user Jo Roberts, and supported by charities Hafal, CAIS, Bipolar UK, Diverse Cymru and Hafal Crossroads.<\/p>\n

The campaign included a survey which 300 people completed, the majority of whom are directly affected by mental illness.<\/p>\n

The results of the survey are revealing. They show that users, carers, and professionals did not believe mental health and criminal justice agencies were supporting users effectively at any stage in the pathway, as the following table sets out:<\/p>\n

How well are mental health and criminal justice agencies doing at each stage?<\/em><\/p>\n

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A key purpose of the campaign was to ask people affected by mental illness how things can be improved in the Criminal Justice System.<\/p>\n

One of the overwhelming responses is that mental health training is vital –<\/strong> for police, for judges and court staff, and for prison staff.<\/p>\n

Put simply, our respondents believe that all staff working within the Criminal Justice System should receive training to recognise and respond to mental health problems. All staff need to know the protocols for dealing with mental health problems; all staff need to be aware of the importance of clear communication and the use of appropriate language.<\/p>\n

And respondents feel strongly that the training should be delivered by – or should at least involve – people with lived 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.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, respondents were especially clear that judgemental attitudes need to be addressed in all areas of the Criminal Justice System.<\/p>\n

Some of the fundamental, long-term reforms identified by the research can be summarised as follows:-<\/p>\n