WGPlus (Archive)

A police cell is not a mental health ward
The Home Office has funded the launch of a pilot to provide an alternative place of safety for people detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983.  At the 2014 Policing & Mental Health Summit the Home Secretary announced that the Home Office would fund the Richmond Fellowship to deliver an alternative place of safety in Sussex.  The pilot will run for 12 weeks.
Researched Links:

HO:  Home Secretary launches alternative place of safety pilot

Richmond Fellowship

Deaths in detention of hundreds of people with mental health conditions could have been avoided, new Inquiry finds

HMIC:  Vulnerable children & adults need care, not custody

Mental health illness prevalence in criminal justice system a scandal

Deaths in or following police custody continue to fall but mental health remains an issue

IPCC to investigate Humberside Police's detention of mentally ill woman

Police custody is regularly being used to detain people whose only ‘crime’ is that they are suffering from a mental disorder, a joint inspection has found

NHS Confed:  Partnership working the way forward, say mental health providers & police chiefs

Providing better help and support for mental health services
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