“Symptoms of something all around us”: Mental health, Inuit culture, and criminal justice in Arctic communities in Nunavut, Canada

Mental illness pervades most societies, but it is only recently that its impact and effects upon individuals has slowly been recognised in England and Wales. When people suffering from this illness become involved with various public agencies, the way they are dealt with appears inconsistent and on occasions ends in tragedy. One agency that is constantly in contact with people who suffer mental health illness is the police service. Some high profile cases have clearly illustrated misunderstandings and the fact that the police are not generally equipped to deal with such individuals. This article considers a brief history and theoretical backcloth to police understanding and framing of mental illness in England and Wales, and explores the National Liaison and Diversion Model as an alternative to traditional police understanding and response. The article suggests that only by understanding the historical context, and literature, surrounding mental illness, can improvements be made in the criminal justice system as a whole and within the police service in particular.

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Managing criminal acts on the psychiatric ward: understanding the police view

Advances in Psychiatric Treatment ◽

10.1192/apt.9.5.359 ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 359-367 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Richard Bayney ◽

George Ikkos

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Criminal Justice ◽

Justice System ◽

Psychiatric Patients ◽

Psychiatric Services ◽

Case Vignette ◽

Psychiatric Ward ◽

Police Services ◽

Local Police ◽

Legal Remedies

Success in preventing and responding to criminal behaviours on psychiatric wards may sometimes require cooperation between mental health services and local police services. This is especially so when seeking legal remedies through the criminal justice system. This article describes police perceptions of psychiatric services and psychiatric patients. It also reviews police procedures and factors that influence their response when the police are requested to intervene following an alleged criminal act by an in-patient. A case vignette is used to highlight the causes of tensions and guide the reader through the steps that might be considered when the issue of prosecution arises.

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Pathways to care and ethnicity. 2: Source of referral and help-seeking

The British Journal of Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/bjp.186.4.290 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 186 (4) ◽

pp. 290-296 ◽

Cited By ~ 97

Author(s):

Craig Morgan ◽

Rosemarie Mallett ◽

Gerard Hutchinson ◽

Hemant Bagalkote ◽

Kevin Morgan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Criminal Justice ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Pathways To Care ◽

First Episode ◽

Criminal Justice Agency ◽

Black African ◽

African Caribbean ◽

African Patients ◽

Pathway To Care

BackgroundPrevious research has found that African–Caribbean and Black African patients are likely to come into contact with mental health services via more negative routes, when compared with White patients. We sought to investigate pathways to mental health care and ethnicity in a sample of patients with a first episode of psychosis drawn from two UK centres.MethodWe included all White British, other White, African–Caribbean and Black African patients with a first episode of psychosis who made contact with psychiatric services over a 2-year period and were living in defined areas. Clinical, socio-demographic and pathways to care data were collected from patients, relatives and case notes.ResultsCompared with White British patients, general practitioner referral was less frequent for both African–Caribbean and Black African patients and referral by a criminal justice agency was more common. With the exception of criminal justice referrals for Black African patients, these findings remained significant after adjusting for potential confounders.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that factors are operating during a first episode of psychosis to increase the risk that the pathway to care for Black patients will involve non-health professionals.

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