Conference Will Explore Criminal Justice and Mental Health
Nick Alston has been invited to speak at the South East and Central Essex Mind Annual Mental Health Conference in Chelmsford. The event will be held on 20th June at Writtle College and the theme for this year is ‘Criminal Justice and Mental Health’.
The aim of the conference is to bring together criminal justice professionals and mental health service providers from the voluntary and statutory sectors as well as service users to develop a broader understanding of contemporary mental health themes in the criminal justice arena.
Nick Alston comments on why the mental health system, the police service and others involved in criminal justice should work closely together, “Mental health problems are conditions that can affect anyone at anytime and it’s important that the police support vulnerable people in the right way.”
There will be a workshop called ‘Mental Health Workers in Custody Suites’ taking place on the day. Nick comments on this subject area, “There are still occasions when people with mental health issues will be taken into police custody but I’m pleased that Essex has five dedicated suites for offenders provided by NHS trusts and a dedicated one for children.
“I welcome the pilot project where mental health nurses will work alongside police officers in the south of our county. I have personally witnessed our officers dealing with the difficult and distressing task of keeping safe a person suffering a mental health episode and expert support from mental health specialists will be valuable.”
Anthony King, Chief Officer for South East and Central Essex Mind said, “We are pleased to be working in partnership with Nick Alston, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex to put together what we hope will be an exciting day and help us all to deliver improved services to those individuals who struggle to manage their offending behaviour alongside mental health with a foundation of best practice through information sharing.”
Other subjects covered at the conference include; Women with Mental Health & Wellbeing Needs in the Criminal Justice System, Victim Support Mental Health Service and Reducing Re-Offending.
For more information about the event, please see www.southendmind.org.uk/pages/conferences.
