Let’s keep the mentally ill away from the criminal justice system as it can lead to suicides and ruin lives and chances of recovery.

A policeman from Devon and Cornwall police has convinced his bosses to keep those who are mentally ill out of the criminal justice system.

PC Del Allerton-Baldwin has embarked on a project to draw up a criminality flow chart, signposting police and health trust staff through scenarios of potentially criminal behavior on mental health wards towards appropriate action.

It is now in every police station in Cornwall and each mental health unit for use on the frontline.

News of this is welcomed by Cornish residents after the Guardian reported in an article that the Metropolitan police received record-breaking numbers of phone calls relating to mental health every five minutes last year, an escalating level of demand caused by NHS services struggling to cope.

The number of calls handled by the force in which someone was concerned about a person’s mental health hit a record 115,000 in the last year: on average 315 a day, or about 13 an hour.

Volumes have since grown by nearly a third since 2011-12, according to data released under freedom of information legislation, and officers fear the demand for help from the public will continue to increase.

PC Allerton-Baldwin’s research included spending time on the wards in Bodmin talking to patients, their families, and trust staff, to gain a comprehensive perspective.

Not long ago as many as 500 people a year used to go in the police cells in the county.

Now 250 people are taken to Longreach House at Barncose Hospital as their place of safety.

In the past year, only three of them went into police custody.

The police officer now works out of Wadebridge Police station and will soon have a laptop and a permanent base at Bodmin Hospital where he can continue his hands-on work while also contributing to police policies, not only throughout Cornwall, Devon, and Dorset but setting national precedents too.

This will be beneficial to the NHS because it will help take some of the pressure off them and a policeman who takes an interest in mental health is a good thing especially when mental health patients come into contact with the law.

Patients will benefit because those who come into contact with the law due will no longer be locked in cells.

Instead to they will be taken to a place where they can receive the help and care they require.

Let us know your thoughts about keeping the mentally ill out of the criminal justice system?

Have you or your loved ones received a criminal record due to the crimes you committed due to mental health?

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