Adferiad Recovery CEO Alun Thomas says ‘there is an urgent need to rescue people with a mental illness from the criminal justice system’
A major inspection has found that the criminal justice system continues to fail people in England and Wales with mental health issues.
Inspectors labelled the findings “disappointing” and said too little progress had been made since the last review in 2009.
Responding to the inspection, Adferiad Recovery CEO Alun Thomas said:
“This report reinforces what our clients have told us for years: the criminal justice system is the worst imaginable place for people with a mental illness and yet it is routine in the UK to inflict this ordeal on some of the most vulnerable people in society.
“The report rightly points to the failure of different agencies to agree a unified approach with shared understanding and systems. These specific issues do need to be addressed and good can come of that.
“But there is a more fundamental challenge. As a society we – and particularly our politicians – need to search our consciences and ask how on earth we can tolerate this situation. There is an urgent need to rescue people with a mental illness from the criminal justice system and give them the care they need in the community or in hospital. There is no need to compromise public safety as appropriate security can be provided for the very few patients who require this. Only the will to end this injustice is lacking. Both the UK and Welsh governments have shown themselves willing to invest at unprecedented levels to protect the health of the public – and these victims of state failure should be at the top of the list for support, not an afterthought.”
Adferiad Recovery proudly runs various criminal justice services across Wales. These include:
North Wales
- Ty’n Rodyn – Supported accommodation for male prison leavers with complex needs.
- Ty Adferiad – Supported accommodation for females with complex needs.
- Jigsaw – Service user group for individuals with a history of offending behaviour.
- Dechrau Newydd – Lead by Kaleidoscope but in partnership with Adferiad Recovery (previously known as the Drugs Intervention Project).
- St Giles Trust – Lead by St Giles Trust in partnership with Adferiad Recovery, works with individuals who have recently been released from prison who are on licence.
Mid, West and South Wales
- Appropriate Adult Services – Adferiad Recovery is the contracted provider of Appropriate Adults for South Wales, Dyfed Powys and Gwent Police, providing support for vulnerable adults in custody. This is also applicable for any vulnerable adult who has been asked to attend a voluntary interview or who wishes to make a victim/witness statement.
- Dyfodol Prison Substance Misuse Service – Adferiad Recovery currently provides substance misuse support for prisoners in HMP Cardiff, Prescoed, Swansea and Usk as the Dyfodol service (in partnership with G4S and Kaleidoscope). This also extends into community support on release to help reduce the risk of relapse and reoffending.
- Youth Offending Substance Misuse Service – Adferiad Recovery also has substance misuse workers embedded within the Youth Offending Teams in Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan to support young offenders in the community with identified substance misuse problems.