Criminal victimisation of people with mental health issues

A new report by Mind and Victim Support, ‘At Risk, Yet Dismissed: the criminal victimisation of people with mental health problems’, highlights that people with a mental health condition are three times as likely as others to be the victims of crime and they report poorer experiences of the justice system. The report is the result of a study which was designed to understand experiences of victimisation and engagement with the criminal justice system among people with mental health problems. The main questions the study sought to answer were: what proportion of people with severe mental illness had been a victim of violent or non-violent crime in the past year, and how does that compare to the general population and what are the barriers and facilitators for people with mental health problems, who have been victims of crime, in reporting crime, progressing through the criminal justice process, and accessing support?

Mind press release: http://www.mind.org.uk/news/show/9746_at_risk_yet_dismissed

Report:  http://www.mind.org.uk/assets/0002/8007/At_risk__yet_dismissed_report_FINAL_EMBARGOED.pdf

Black and Minority Ethnic communities, mental health and criminal justice

A new briefing published by the Centre for Mental Health’s Bradley Commission has found that community groups are key to engaging black and minority ethnic groups that are disproportionately represented both in mental health care and in the criminal justice system. This first report from the Commission ‘Black and Minority Ethnic communities, mental health and criminal justice’ looks in detail at this issue and gives examples of local services that are making a difference.
Press release:  http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/news/2013_Bradley_Commission_BME_communities.aspx

Briefing: http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/Bradley_Commission_BME_communities.aspx?ID=677

Mental health care and the criminal justice system

The Centre for Mental Health has published a briefing paper examining the provision of mental health care for adults in the criminal justice system. ‘Mental health care and the criminal justice system’ looks at what has been achieved to date and identifies priorities for further work. The report concludes that the introduction of prison mental health teams has led to an improvement in mental health care in some prisons but the picture is mixed. There is still little provision for the vast majority of prisoners who have common mental health problems such as depression and other problems normally supported by primary care outside prison.

http://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/briefing_39.aspx?ID=635