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Mental health nurses to be placed in police stations

Mental health nurses are to be posted in police stations and courts in a bid to reduce reoffending by mentally ill criminals, under a new pilot scheme in ten areas across England.

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Mental health support at police stations welcomed

The Centre for Mental Health has welcomed plans for mental health professionals to be placed in prison stations as part of a drive to reduce reoffending by mentally ill patients.

Liaison and diversion teams provide immediate advice and help to the police when they arrest someone with a mental health difficulty. They can screen for mental health problems and learning difficulties in both adults and children who come into police custody and secure the right support for those who need it.

We are pleased that the Government has given the go-ahead to further development of liaison and diversion services. This year it will be five years since the Bradley Report was published and it is vital that good quality mental health support for adults and children alike is available in every police station and court in England.

– Centre for Mental Health chief executive Sean Duggan

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Mental health nurses to be placed in police stations

Mental health nurses are to be posted in police stations and courts in a bid to reduce reoffending by mentally ill criminals, the government has announced.

The £25 million pilot will be tested in Merseyside, London, Avon and Wiltshire, Leicester, Sussex, Dorset, Sunderland and Middlesbrough, Coventry, south Essex and Wakefield.

Mental health nurses are to be posted in police stations and courts, the government has said. Credit: Press Association

Care and support minister Norman Lamb said the scheme will mean that people with mental health problems are treated "as early as possible" to help "divert" them away from offending again.

If successful, the measure will be rolled out across the rest of the country by 2017.

It has been estimated that police officers spend 15% to 25% of their time dealing with mental health problems - the equivalent of around 26,000 officers.

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