Support from Government and Opposition

UPDATE - Oral question response in Ministry of Justice Question Time, 11 December 2007

David Taylor MP raised our report during Ministry of Justice questions on 11 December 2007 and drew a useful response from the Government:

T6. [172652] David Taylor (North-West Leicestershire) (Lab/Co-op): A couple of weeks ago, a report by Mind entitled "Another assault" revealed that people with mental health problems suffer shockingly high levels of crime and victimisation but are reluctant to report incidents, not least because when they do, in an overwhelming number of cases, they receive a poor service from the criminal justice system. What is being done to increase confidence in the criminal justice system on the part of those who have mental ill-health problems?

The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Maria Eagle): My hon. Friend is right that there are certain vulnerable groups who find it hard to deal with the criminal justice system when they come into contact with it. He will be aware that we have taken a lot of steps in the past few years to try to support victims of crime and to ensure that we can take them through the criminal justice system in a much more supportive environment than has necessarily been the case in the past. Certainly, victims of crime who have mental ill health would benefit from the work that is being done, but I would be the first to admit that we need to continue to work hard and do more to ensure that victims of crime who are vulnerable for whatever reason, including those who have mental ill health, are properly supported through the system, and we are determined to do that.

Support from Government and Opposition

"I welcome this report which brings into sharp focus the truly shocking extent to which those with mental health problems are abused verbally, physically and sexually in the community, and the difficulties they then experience in accessing justice for crimes committed against them. I fully support Mind in its determination to give those concerned more equitable access to the criminal justice system."  Vera Baird QC MP, Solicitor General

"In a decent, fair and just society offering protection to the most vulnerable members of our community is a key responsibility of the state. An essential element of this is ensuring that the law enforcement and court system operates in a way which is fair to all. I welcome this report in highlighting some of the barriers to justice which result in crime going unreported, unrecognised and unresolved." James Brokenshire MP, Conservative Shadow Home Affairs Minister 

"People with mental health problems are among those most likely to be failed by the criminal justice system. Not only are they far more likely to be the victim of a crime but they are far less likely to report that crime and have their cases taken seriously if they do. There needs to be a fundamental change in access to criminal justice for people with mental health problems. I know that Mind have already done some excellent work in this field and I hope that the shocking revelations contained in the Another Assault report force criminal justice agencies to reassess the way in which they deal with these extremely vulnerable members of our society."  David Heath MP, Liberal Democrat  Shadow Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor

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