Why are some mentally ill patients treated like criminals?

When Linda Morgan's son Joe Paraskeva was sectioned, he tried to escape from hospital and was given a prison sentence that could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars. His mother has launched a campaign, Justice for Joe, to highlight his case.

Amelia Gentleman
guardian.co.uk

By the time Joe Paraskeva started smashing his fist through the mirrors at his family home, saying he could no longer bear to look at his own face, his mother realised that he was having another serious mental health crisis and needed urgent medical help.

On 4 October last year, Linda Morgan accompanied her 20-year-old son to a secure unit within the adult psychiatric ward of a large London hospital where he was subsequently sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He had already spent seven months in an adolescent mental health unit when he was 17, where he was diagnosed and treated for bipolar affective disorder, but this was the first time he had been inside an adult unit and Morgan recalls that when she said goodbye, her son was very nervous at being left alone.

Two days later, frightened and disturbed, he tried to escape from the wing, attempting (unsuccessfully) to burn a hole in the doors by lighting his aerosol deodorant and firing the flame towards the lock. No one was hurt and only a couple of hundred pounds' worth of damage was caused, Morgan says. Paraskeva pleaded guilty to arson and on 5 April he was given an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP), with a minimum requirement of two years in prison but no maximum limit – which means he could, depending on his behaviour, be detained for life.

His mother cannot understand how a patient sectioned within a mental health ward and apparently seriously ill has been given such a severe punishment. Her son, who had no previous criminal convictions, offered to pay for whatever damage was caused when he pleaded guilty. She is horrified that within two days of voluntarily http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifadmitting himself to hospital on ghttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrounds of mental ill health, he washttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif transferred first to a police cell, and then subsequently to prison. Paraskeva is serving his sentence at Chelmsford Young Offenders Institute, and although he has spent some time on the medical wing there, he is currently with other prisoners in the general section of the institution.

"I don't think that Joe should have been sent to prison at all after committing an offence under section in a psychiatric ward. He doesn't need punishment; he needs help," Morgan says. Confused and horrified by the speed with which her son was moved from being a patient to a prisoner, she has launched an online campaign, Justice for Joe.

To read more of this compelling story, click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/jun/01/mentally-ill-treated-like-criminals?INTCMP=SRCH

Prisons must stop locking the media out

ITV's Strangeways gave an authentic glimpse of life inside, but the prison service still obstructs real journalistic inquiry, writes Eric Allison

For years, I have preached the need for more media access to our prisons. My mantra reads: we know what goes on in most of our public institutions, schools, hospitals and the like; why should we be (mostly) ignorant of life behind bars? Especially when the way we treat prisoners will have a significant effect on the way they treat us when they are released.

Therefore, I watched with interest ITV's recent three-part documentary revealing life behind the walls of HMP Manchester, Strangeways.
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The series, with impressive viewing figures, was always going to be a curate's egg for ex-cons like me. I knew it would be a promotional exercise for the prison service (otherwise they would not have allowed the cameras in), but it conveyed an authentic glimpse of prison life; an existence far removed from the "holiday camp" popular perception. And it showed that prison staff have a lot to put up with – well, at least while the cameras were rolling. The main pressure on staff, across the system, is the need to deal with people who should not be there; the thousands siphoned into prisons since the Thatcher government's closure of secure mental hospitals. Prison staff are not mental health nurses, and prisons – noisy volatile places – are the last place we should put those with mental health problems.

To read more click here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2011/jun/02/prisons-locking-media-out?CMP=twt_gu

Daylight talks to Charles de Lacy: how to work with offfenders with mh p

In February, Sarah Scott from Daylight, talked to Charles de Lacy, an expert with years of experience working with offenders with mental health problems.

How did you get involved with working with offenders?

I was a Baptist Minister in Chelmsford for thirteen years and during that time I came into contact with ex-offenders who either joined our church or lived in our community. One of them even helped clear up my house when it flooded while we were away on holiday. I was also a trustee with a charity called Church House Trust and came into contact with ex-offenders through that work too. I sometimes preached in the chapel at Chelmsford prison and had contact with the chaplaincy which allowed me to visit individual prisoners who appreciated being able to talk to someone from outside the prison environment. Often, this is the only visit prisoners receive which means they are very appreciative.

To read more, click here: http://www.daylightcpt.org/downloads/FINAL%20Charles%20Delacy.pdf

Together exhibition explores female experiences of justice

09 March 2011

Female offenders’ experiences of the criminal justice system have been captured in a unique exhibition organised by mental health charity Together, marking four years since the ground-breaking Corston Report, which called for a radical new approach in dealing with vulnerable women offenders.

'Girls Behind Bars: Female Experiences of Justice' opens to the public today (9th March), and is on show to the public at the Together Our Space Gallery, London, until 10th June. The show was officially opened by Baroness Corston, the author of the report, at a private launch event yesterday evening.

Through the art and words of the prisoners and ex-offenders taking part, the exhibition aims to explore their lives, and what justice has been like, from their points of view. The show also includes a collaborative project between female prisoners and arts organisation Pharmacopoeia, which was initiated by The British Museum and funded by University College London.

The Corston Report, four years on

The Corston Report was commissioned by government following the tragic deaths of six women at Styal prison within a one year period. It looked at the experiences of vulnerable women within the criminal justice system and led to a £15.6m programme, which included the provision of a national network of women's centres, and the development of bail support, including hostel places, to help keep such women out of prison. However, sustainable funding remains an issue, with many of the centres facing possible closure or reduction in services.

Baroness Corston comments: “The women’s centres provide many offenders with their first real opportunity to address the root cause of their offending, and to take responsibility for their lives. They must receive the money they need to continue this important work.

“A huge amount has changed in the past four years, but there is still much more to be done. There are still far too many women in prison for non-violent offences, and they are far more likely than women outside prison to be mentally-ill, substance abusers, or to have experienced child or adult sexual abuse or violence.”

Over 70% of women prisoners have two or more mental health disorders and they account for 52% of self-harm incidents in prison, despite constituting only 5% of the prison population. Together, which directly works with women offenders through its diversion and offender management programmes, is calling for the continued funding of the women’s centres, and for a roll-out of diversion schemes nationally that can identify and divert such women away from custody and into community-based alternatives that address mental health needs.

To read full article, click here: http://www.together-uk.org/news/62/61/Together-exhibition-explores-female-experiences-of-justice

Girls behind bars: female experiences of justice

By Jeremy Dunning, senior adult beat journalist on March 9, 2011 12:01

Eve McDougall was 15 when she was sent to an adult prison for breaking a window.

The experience led to a chaotic lifestyle before she was able to turn her life around.

Now she is one of several artists appearing in a powerful exhibition demonstrating female offenders' experiences of the criminal justice system, which has been organised by mental health charity Together.

The exhibition marks four years since the ground-breaking Corston Report, which led to the provision of a national network of women's centres, and the development of bail support, including hostel places, to help keep vulnerable young women out of prison.

However, sustainable funding remains an issue, with many of the centres facing possible closure or reduction in services.

Over 70% of women prisoners have two or more mental health disorders and they account for 52% of self-harm incidents in prison, despite constituting only 5% of the prison population.

Together is calling for the continued funding of the women's centres, and for a roll-out of diversion schemes nationally that can identify and divert such women away from custody and into community-based alternatives that address mental health needs.

To read full article, click here: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/adult-care-blog/2011/03/girls-behind-bars-female-experiences-of-justice.html

Together launch mental health guide for criminal justice staff

Practitioners at Together have joined forces with criminal justice and health agencies to produce a new mental health guide targeted at frontline criminal justice agency staff.

Believed to be the first of its kind, 'A common sense approach to working with defendants and offenders with mental health problems' was launched by Louis Appleby CBE, National Clinical Director for Health and Criminal Justice, at an event in London today (11 Jan 2011).

It offers guidance to professionals such as police officers, probation officers, security and court staff on how to work effectively with the disproportionate number of people with mental health problems who find themselves in contact with the criminal justice system. It also includes information and advice on working with people who have substance misuse issues, alcohol problems and learning difficulties.

Click here for full details: http://www.together-uk.org/news/60/61/Together-launch-mental-health-guide-for-criminal-justice-staff