The Met: Policing London



Boinger said:
Absolute disgrace that two officers are off the street for the best part of 5 hours dealing with the mentally ill woman, there has to be a better system.
@duff_man ?
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That plod (London's version of Gary the Hair) was a complete dick mind, when he pulled the Taser out it it was beyond cringeworthy.
 
duff_man said:
Major failings in the healthcare system with regards to mental health and outdated and inadequate legislation available (MHA is from 1983) are two main reasons.

5 hours believe it or not is probably the lower end of the scale from officers getting to a location and using S136, organising a mental health unit for assessment, arranging LAS to transport the patient there, handing over and completing paperwork.

People would be surprised how much police time is actually taken up by mental health, some recent stats I saw were as high as 33%. Then people get arsey about police not turning up when their £10 garden gnome has been nicked.
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It seemed to me a lack of police resource was the main problem in this example. They were stuck outside a police station as were a few other officers waiting for someone in custody to be able to process people arrested.

I'm not sure new mh legislation is going to be the answer. It was amended in 07 which widened the criteria for detention already. Problem is very limited beds to admit to when its needed. So people either arent admitted or are discharged quickly to free up beds.
Services are massively underfunded or have criteria that isnt supportive - police, social care, community mental health teams, housing, employment etc.
Then theres attitudes towards mental health, particularly personality disorders.

I cant see any of this changing under the current government.
 
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