The conference was held at Molineux on February 24 and included experts from across the health, justice and social care fields.
It focused on the health and mental wellbeing of offenders in a bid to reduce crime and the number of victims. The aim was to raise awareness of the issues and come up with recommendations to improve the system and ensure people are getting the correct treatment for their needs.
The recommendations included:
- Individual plans for offenders with mental health needs.
- More work with looked-after children as 45 per cent have mental health issues.
- More – and better promotion of – mentoring schemes in the West Midlands.
- Early intervention and prevention with vulnerable people.
“Up to 90 per cent of the prison population has a mental health problem, as does 20 per cent of all people who come into contact with the police, so these are issues we need to tackle head on.
“Mental health is something that impacts on so many of us and it’s therefore vital that we focus on it fully and make sure we’re doing all we can. I am confident these recommendations will achieve real results.
“I’d also like to thank Councillor Paulette Hamilton for her hard work on this.”
During the conference, there were speeches, discussions, workshops and Q&A sessions.
Speakers included PCC David Jamieson, Birmingham’s Director of Public Health Adrian Phillips and Care Not Custody Director Jenny Talbot OBE.
