Research
| Date | 01 September 1991 |
| Published date | 01 September 1991 |
| DOI | 10.1177/026455059103800319 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
153
RESEARCH
Difficult
Prisoners
Parkhurst
Prison’s
Special
Unit
was
the
first
such
unit
established
to
deal
with
prisoners
who
present
serious
control
problems,
as
recommended
in
1987
by
the
Research
and
Advisory
Group
on
the
management
of
the
long
term
prison
system.
Managing
Difficult
Prisoners
(H(3RS
No
122,
1991,
£9)
edited
by
Ray
W~.l~sley,
reports
on
the
fust
two
years,
combining
a
description
by
the
unit’s
senior
psychologist,
a
psychiatric
study
by
the
Institute
of
Psychiatry
and
an
evaluation
by
Professor
John
Martin.
The
unit
appeared
to
have
suc-
cessfully
fulfilled
its
aims,
with
an
im-
pressive
degree
of
multi-disciplinary
teamwork,
though
staff
morale
had
declined,
partly
as
a
result
of
a
large
number
of
staff
changes.
All
of
the
23
(out
of
28)
men
interviewed
were
found
to
have
multiple
psychiatric
pro-
blems,
with
major
relationship
pro-
blems
and
egocentricit~
As
many
as
a
half
had
either
experienced
a
schizophrenic
breakdown
or
a
paranoid
illness,
and
70%
had
at
some
time
suffered a
depressive
illness.
Professor
Martin
felt
that
the
unit
was
influenced
by
and
subsidiary
to
the
style
and
needs
of
the
host
prison
as
a
whole,
losing
out
in
any
conflict
of
interest.
The
unit
was
rather
claustrophobic
and
lacking
in
resources
and
incentives
for
prisoners
to
under-
take
activities.
Staff
had
learnt
to
work
in
effective,
non-confrontational
ways.
The
personal
officer
scheme
was
crucial
but
jeopardised
by
too
frequent
moves
of
staff.
Two
further
units
have
been
established
and
one
more
is
planned.
Police
and
Mental
Disorder
MIND
undertook
a
study
between
1985
and
1987
of
the
role
of
the
police
and
psychiatric
services
in
implemen-
ting
section
136
of
the
Mental
Health
Act
1983,
whic~4,atithorizes
the
police
to
remove
from
a
public
place
a
per-
son
appearing
to
be
suffering
from
a
mental
disorder
and
in
immediate
need
of
care
or
control
to
a
’place
of
safety’
for
up
to
72
hours,
pending
psychiatric
investigation.
Examining
100
cases
in
the
Metropolitan
Police
area,
the
re-
searchers
found
that
the
police
misconstrued
the
section
as
an
out-
come
or
disposal
rather
than
as
the
authority
for
arresting
a
person
in
cer-
tain
emergency
circumstances.
Because
there
were
no
agreed
or
readily
available
procedures
allowing
the
police
to
bring
people
to
hospital
without
compulsory
procedures,
s136
was
used
where
informal
procedures
might
have
been
appropriate.
A
substantial
number
of
arrests
were
from
private
premises,
attributable
to
the
failure
to
implement
appropriate
pro-
cedures
for
such
circumstances
and
the
very
poor
relations
between
the
police
and
Social
Services
in
London.
While
the
study
did
not
demonstrate
overt
racist
behaviour
by
the
police,
the
disproportionate
number
of
people
of
Afro-Caribbean
origin
was
clear
and
may
well
represent
covert
racism
and
racial
stereotyping.
Where
an
offence
has
been
com-
mitted,
s136
and
charging
are
seen
as
alternative
disposals,
so
that
invoking
one
usually
precludes
the
other.
Thus
if
a
mentally
disordered
person
is
charged,
assessment
under
s136
is
not
made
available.
Practical
problems
arise
when
a
hospital
is
used
as
a
place
of
safety,
including
difficulties
in
locating
the
appropriate
catchment
area
hospital
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