Michael Brown Mental Health Cop and Inspector at West Midlands Police Michael Brown is an Inspector at West Midlands Police and has been a vocal support of more discussion on the relationship between mental health and the police. Mr Brown started the blog following work he was doing on mental health-related projects with the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) aimed at improving the force's response to incidents when someone presented with a mental health problem. Michael Brown set up a blog and twitter account to represent the uncertain and ongoing debate about the role of the police, the legal structures within which we must operate particularly with regard to mental health. Mr Brown said that the blog should help those who do not feel they receiving enough training on mental health issues within the police force. The Mental Health Cop blog now has over 20,000 followers made up of other of officers, psychiatrists, social workers, health professionals, lawyers and mental health service users. Through his blog he won the Mark Hanson Digital Media Award at Mind's Media Awards. Workshop Title: Contain, not restrain - de-escalating police responses to psychiatric emergency The workshop will explore, in the context of previous untoward events and critical events, how the police can better contain, rather than restraint their way out of psychiatric emergency incidents. With a focus on dignity and human rights, the workshop will draw on the combined learning from health and mental health criminal justice over the last fifteen years.

1. Policing, Mental Health
and Restraint Reduction
Inspector Michael Brown
Author – MentalHealthCop blog
mentalhealthcop.wordpress.com

2. Policing and Mental Health
• Estimates: 20% or more of all police demand
• Amongst the most sensitive
• Amongst the most controversial
• Responding to vulnerable people with
complex, often unmet needs.
• Reputational impact from the use of force.
• Deaths in custody or following contact.

3. Workshop Outline
• Police responses to mental health
emergencies
• Police responses to criminal suspects who are
in mental distress.

4. Mental Health Emergencies
• 22,500 uses of s136 Mental Health Act 1983
• Rising thresholds to access secondary care?
• Non-integrated urgent mental health care?
• Identifying clinically relevant pathways –
• Triage / Assessment / Care.

5. Restraint
• Restraint prevention >>> De-escalation!
• Restraint reduction.
• Safer restraint.
• Recognising clinical implications of restraint.

6. Mental Health Emergencies
• What are the relevant clinical considerations
for the police officers in this incident?
• After each feed, you get 30 seconds in your
group to make a decision.
• Answers must be limited to just five words!

7. Scenario 1 – feed one
• You are with another officer, called to the
High Street:
• “999 call, my son is in the road, shouting at
traffic and he’s punched the window of a
bus.”
• En route: caller is the mother, worried about
his mental health and he’s taken drugs today.

8. Scenario 1 – feed two
• You arrive to find traffic moving slowly, a man
is in the road, shouting at the traffic.
• He has a hand injury, bleeding injuries around
his knuckles.
• He sees the police arrive and shouts, “I’ll tell
you now, come near me and you’ll die.”
• Assessment / Decision – what do you do?

9. Scenario 1 – first decision
?

10. Scenario 1 – feed three
• Communication has failed, he remains in the
road.
• Cars are sounding their horns, some are
slowly manoeuvring around him.
• PNC checks reveals he is ‘known’: markers for
violence, drugs, and mental health.
• Assessment / decision – what do you do?

11. Scenario 1 – second decision
?

12. Scenario 1 – feed four
• You decide to detain / arrest the man –
• He resists violently, punching your colleague
to the face, seriously hurting him.
• Other officers arrive, he is restrained and
handcuffed to the rear.
• Assessment / decision – where are you going?

13. Scenario 1 – third decision
?

14. Scenario 1 – feed five
• Ongoing restraint remains necessary, as he is
attempting to bang his head on the floor.
• Accident & Emergency?
• Mental Health Place of Safety?
• Police station?
• Anywhere else temporarily willing to receive
the person.

15. Scenario 1 – fourth decision
?!

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