A night in the cells for mental health awareness
An end to mental health victims being locked up across County Durham and Darlington.
An end to mental health victims being locked up across County Durham and Darlington.
Durham Constabulary has decided to make sure no young person with a mental illness ends up in a police cell as a "Place of Safety",
Similarly, stations will only be used in exceptional circumstances in the case of adults.
Ron Hogg, Police, Crime and Victims Commissioner for County Durham and Darlington, said;
"Police custody is not an appropriate environment for people in a mental health crisis.
"This can worsen their experience and heighten their vulnerability.
"Therefore we need to ensure that our most vulnerable people have access to appropriate support at the earliest opportunity."
To highlight the issue, Ron opened the cells of Consett police station to charity workers who support mental health patients.
They were locked in overnight, to truly experience what victims might go through.
Speaking from his cell this morning is Matthew Smith, co-founder of the If U Care Share foundation, who work to prevent suicide in young people across County Durham;
Another "prisoner" is Sara-Jane Heslop, from the YMCA, who was sponsored to spend the night to raise money for the Lee Robson Patient Fund.
She gave her verdict of the experience;
"I felt very isolated. The atmosphere in itself is very echoey.
"You can hear everything going on up and down the corridors and I couldn't help but imagine what that would be like on a normal Saturday night
"And it must be terrifying."