RACIAL DISPARITIES IN THE POLICING OF MENTAL HEALTH
This research report explores how the UK’s medical and criminal system treats those with mental health disorders, and ultimately the over-policing of the global majority, particularly Black men.
It identifies the criticisms of the Crown Prosecution Service and the Independent Office for Police Conduct, the inherent violence of policing, and the ineptitude of the police force to appropriately manage mental health crises, concluding that this is detrimental to those with mental health disorders of all races but, through systemic racism, is particularly damaging to Black people.
The study also examines police perceptions of their role in mental health cases and ultimately suggests reforms to address these critical racial disparities which become even more pronounced when policing intersects with mental health.
