Pilot
to Help People With Mental Health Needs Break Out Of Criminal Justice
System
How
to better support people with mental health and complex needs who find
themselves repeatedly going through the criminal justice system was the
focus of an event held at Watford Football Club on Wednesday, July 16th.
A number of key organisations including Hertfordshire Constabulary, the
Probation Service, the County Council, Hertfordshire NHS Partnership as
well as other voluntary organisations including the Citizen's Advice Bureau,
joined together in a first meeting to develop a project to improve the
outcomes for people who come into contact with the police and wider criminal
justice system with low level mental health needs.
Often these needs means they slip through the net in terms of getting
the support they need to have a full life away from being involved in
nuisance behaviour.
Detective Superintendent Jon Chapman, who is the Constabulary's champion
for Protecting Vulnerable People, said: ‘All the organisations and
agencies at this event are committed to help people break out of the cycle
of crime. Often a person's complex needs aren't severe enough to meet
the threshold of traditional services, and they go unmet.’
He added: ‘These underlying problems are a large contributory factor
to repeat offending and by bringing together these key organisations we
hope to improve the interface with mental health and criminal justice
systems and improve the outcomes for these people, with the ultimate goal
to further reduce crime in the county.’
The project, which forms part of a national development programme, is
being piloted in Watford. If successful, it will be rolled out into the
rest of Hertfordshire and possibly across the country.
County Councillor Richard Smith, Executive Member for Community Safety,
said: ‘It is very important that vulnerable people who are either
arrested or come to the attention of the police are given the appropriate
support. Their needs must be met by the Criminal Justice System.’
The group will scrutinise current practices and look to develop a method
for identifying people with mental health issues and/or learning disabilities
who come in to contact with the police, look to expand existing services
and create new ones.
