Home Secretary demands change in race bias in mental health

The Home Secretary Theresa May made history last week by organising -along with Black Mental Heath UK- and hosting the first UK Government summit on the thorny issue of policing and Black mental health.

The records are clear and the data cannot be disputed: If you’re Black and have any mental health issues, and for whatever reason interact with the authorities in particularly the police, it is more likely to be negative, at times tragically so, leading to untimely deaths in police custody.

Some of the families were there to listen to the Home Secretary who announced a package of measures to confront the challenges of Black deaths in police custody, including the overuse of tasers. May stated:

Imagine what it is like for the thousands of people with mental health problems, learning disabilities or other vulnerabilities who regularly encounter the police: people suffering from a breakdown or a psychotic episode; people acting in a way that is dangerous to themselves or others; people who are vulnerable and have been attacked or robbed; people who are confused, distressed and disorientated.

And then imagine if that encounter also leads to physical restraint, or even being tasered by the police. Imagine being transported to hospital not in an ambulance, but in the back of a police car. Or being detained in a police cell rather than a health-based place of safety or mental health ward. That encounter must be terrifying."

In one of the breakout sessions that I attended, I and others raised the issue about accountability; Black people die having being restrained in the most barbaric way, and to date not one person has been brought to book. An attendee, argued,

whilst there maybe some satisfaction in an individual being prosecuted for the death of an individual, but perhaps we should be focusing on the head of the police station for his station neglecting proper procedure. Collective responsibility.”

Long time activist in this area and co organiser of the summit, Matilda MacAttram, director of Black Mental Health UK, speaking exclusively to The Voice May said:

I fully appreciate and understand why people feel so strongly about this, particularly those who are family members and friends of those who have died in custody. But I understand the importance of this issue to the whole black African Caribbean community.

It is not possible to change everything overnight, things do take time to put into place, but I want to reassure everybody of my commitment and the government’s commitment to look at this issue and do something about it."

Let’s hope the Home Secretary’s plans can ensure real changes within a mental health system in which the police should rarely intervene and when they do with a protocol that views the individual as a patient who needs care not brute force.

Simon Woolley