CALLS have been made to ensure police are dealing sensitively with people struggling with mental health problems.

It comes after a mother suffering post-natal depression said she was stripped naked , handcuffed and put face down in a police van after calling 999 when she attempted suicide.

Charities yesterday told The Argus that mental health patients were “routinely stripped” and “dehumanised”.

Mental health charity Rethink Mental Illness described the incident as “horrific” and called for more to be done to find out how police forces were handling mental health patients.

A report by the Independent Police Complaints Commission criticised Sussex Police for having inadequate training in dealing with people with mental health issues at the time of the incident in 2012 – adding that “little appeared to have changed” since.

The latest data from the National Police Chiefs Council showed that 151 people were held in police cells after being detained by Sussex Police under the Mental Health Act in 2015-16.

It was a significant reduction from the year before where Sussex was ranked the worst in the country with 765 people held.

During 2014-15 three people also committed suicide after being detained by Sussex Police.

The Mind charity has also called for a ban on the use of police cells as a place of safety for people suffering mental health crises.

Senior policy and campaigns manager Alison Cobb said: “It’s good to see Sussex Police making improvements but we would still say 151 people detained in cells is too many.

“Police need to be aware of mental health issues and how best to deal with people with mental health problems.

“Even when individual police officers show compassion the whole process treats people as criminals and sometimes people have a really awful experience.

A spokeswoman for the Rethink Mental Health charity said: “We know the police are often doing the best they can in difficult circumstances, having to make tough decisions on a daily basis. But we have heard of instances where people have not been treated as they should be during a mental health crisis, for example when someone is feeling suicidal or they are having delusional thoughts, or hallucinations. At Rethink Mental Illness we are currently doing a big piece of work on behalf of the Mental Health Alliance, through a survey, to gather people’s experiences of the Mental Health Act, to see if it’s working the way it should be. Another thing to consider is that failings could be down to the Act itself but could also be down to practice, eg lack of training among police or due to stigma that still often surrounds mental illness.”

RAPE VICTIM LEFT ‘BATTERED AND ASSAULTED’ BY OFFICERS

STRIPPED naked and reliving memories of being gang-raped, a mother in the grip of a suicide attempt said Sussex Police “falsely imprisoned, assaulted and battered” her.

She had called 999 herself but ended up handcuffed in front of her husband, with her legs restrained and lying face down in the back of a police van.

Sussex Police have been accused by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) of having “inadequate training” in dealing with people with mental health issues. These new concerns are all too familiar.

Earlier this year the case of an 11-year-old girl – also detained under the mental health act and forced to wear a spit hood, shackled and handcuffed – sparked criticism.

Last month Sussex Police was revealed to have used the controversial spit hoods more than any other force in the country.

More than 700 people have now signed a petition by the girl’s mother calling for Sussex Police to ban the use of spit hoods – which are already banned by the Metropolitan Police, Merseyside, South Yorkshire and West Midlands forces.

The solicitor Gus Silverman of Irwin Mitchell, who represents the family of the girl who was forced to wear a spit hood, spoke to The Argus yesterday and raised concerns.

He said: “This latest sad case appears to emphasise the need even further to improve the training given to its officers about responding to individuals with mental illnesses.

“Police officers are under a legal duty to make reasonable adjustments to the way they treat disabled people, including people with mental illnesses, to ensure they are not substantially disadvantaged.

“This means that a police officer who ignores a person’s particular needs arising from a mental illness could be opening themselves up to disciplinary action and exposing the police force to legal proceedings. One of the IPCC’s recommendations following its investigation into the treatment of my client was that Sussex Police need to improve the training given to its officers about responding to individuals with mental illnesses.”

Sussex Police have made vast strides in the way they treat people detained under the Mental Health Act – the number held in cells has significantly dropped and no children under 18 were detained under the act in police cells last year.

The difficulty placed on the police is echoed by charities.

Police custody is all too often used as more than just as a last resort – because there are not enough out of hours mental health crisis teams available to cope. Mind is calling for a total ban on detention in police cells – but the approach is reliant on NHS support.

Chief executive Paul Farmer said: “When you’re in a mental health crisis, you may become frustrated, frightened and extremely distressed. Your behaviour could be perceived as aggressive and threatening to others, but you desperately need support and compassion. Being held in a police cell and effectively treated like a criminal only makes things worse. Now is the moment to ban this damaging practice once and for all.”

Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne and Sussex Police agreed “police cells are no place for people in mental health crisis”.

She said: “It is important to acknowledge that, as a 24/7 emergency service, police are often called as a last resort. Officers then have to make situational judgments on the dynamic risks that distressed individuals pose to their own health and to others.”

Ms Bourne also insisted that while improvements were being made, where officers have acted inappropriately they should face public disciplinary action.

She said: “I have seen Sussex Police make tremendous efforts to understand mental health better and work more effectively with partners. The introduction of street triage [in which mental health nurses accompany officers to incidents] where police believe people need immediate mental health support. The aim is to ensure that people get the medical attention they need as quickly as possible., for example, has reduced the numbers of people being detained in cells by more than one third since 2013. My role brings greater transparency to policing. Serious misconduct hearings are now held in public. Officers are no longer able to resign prior to any serious misconduct hearing.”

In both the depressed mother and the 11-year-old girl’s cases officers involved resigned before any disciplinary action was taken.

FORCE ‘LEADING WAY’ WITH STREET TRIAGE

SUSSEX Police said they had “led the way” with their mental health street triage scheme, which involves health professionals working alongside police officers.

A spokesman said: “Officers, where possible, with the support of street triage will find a more appropriate pathway of help for the person.

“If they do need to be detained under the Mental Health Act, they will now take the person to a place of safety at a health based setting rather than police custody.

“Anyone who is in crisis and needs support should be assessed in a hospital place of safety rather than a police cell, and Sussex Police are committed to making this happen.

“With the introduction of street triage and close work with partners, we have seen reductions of those detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 by around a quarter compared to previous years and of those, the majority are being taken to a hospital place of safety rather than police custody.

“It is anticipated that with the continued collaboration between Sussex Police and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, these numbers will continue to fall.”