Dozens of people suffering a mental health crisis ended up behind bars because no other suitable place could be found for them. In the first of a three-part series we look at the scale of the problem across Kent...

Holding people who have had a mental health breakdown in a police cell because there is no place of safety available should be made illegal, says Kent’s crime commissioner.

Matthew Scott is pressing for action as the latest figures show 65 adults in crisis ended up behind bars in the county during the last financial year.

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Although this is 13% less compared to the same period in 2015-16, he warned a growing amount of police time was being spent dealing with adults in turmoil and has weekly meetings with officers and staff to review how such cases are being dealt with.

"I'm fundamentally against it, but you have to use the tools you have got at your disposal when there is just nowhere else for them to go," Mr Scott told KentOnline.

"My worry is that exacerbates their condition, that being in that confined space might make them feel more vulnerable so it is absolutely vital that we get them to a health-based place of safety as soon as possible.

"My ambition would be for police forces across the country to make this a "never event" and say 'we're not going to detain an adult in a police cell under section 136 even if the law says you can still do it'.

"The National Police Chiefs' Council share that ambition and it's one I'd like to see implemented until it becomes illegal in some way."

Children suffering a mental health crisis can also be detained in a police cell in Kent, but Mr Scott confirmed this had only happened in Kent twice in the last three years because there was no health-based place of safety for them to go.

The Police and Crime Act, a new law banning youngsters from being held in police cells was due to come into force in April, but was put on hold due to next month’s general election.

"The new legislation said it would be under exceptional circumstances only that someone could be detained in a police cell," said Mr Scott.

"I welcome that change but I think we should go further and say it should be a "never event" and people should always be taken to a health-based place of safety.

"If that requires more investment, if that requires more mental health suites then we need to find the money to do it."

'You feel like you're contaminated in some way'

No figures were available about the length of time people who'd suffered a breakdown spent in police cells, but Mr Scott said a survey over a particularly busy weekend showed nine people were detained for 300 hours between them - an average of 33.3 each.

Describing the figures as "worrying", the crime commissioner added: "The key is to get them out and get them that assessment to a health-based place of safety as soon and quickly as possible."

Mr Scott praised the Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trustand its chief executive Helen Greatorex for her work to reduce the problem.

"There was a massive spike at the start of the year, but when the new chief executive has come in we have seen it fall away so in the last six months only eight people have ended up in a police cell," he said.

"It's important that we make sure that person gets the right care from the right person at the right time.

"Police officers do receive some training but they are not trained mental health professionals."

Mental health arrests

Meanwhile, the total number of people in Kent with mental health issues arrested by police has doubled in four years.

It has jumped from 41 in 2012 to 85 last year, according to figures release following a Freedom of Information request.

Of the 310 people arrested during the four-year period, 188 were men and 122 were women, and six were children aged 16 and under - four girls and two boys.

A total of 91 came from Canterbury, 64 from Margate, 52 from Folkestone, 39 from Medway, 36 from Maidstone, 22 from Tonbridge, and six from Gravesend.

Police were keen to point out not all of them required to be detained in a cell, but for those who were the average time in custody was 10 hours and the maximum was 69 hours.

Police have the power to detain people under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act to allow a joint assessment by a doctor and approved mental health professional and to make any arrangements needed for the person's treatment and care.

A force spokesman said this was only done "to ensure the safety of the individual and the public".

"In the majority of cases the appropriate place of safety will be a designated mental health unit," he said.

"However, in specific circumstances a police station or Accident and Emergency department within a hospital can be considered an appropriate place of safety.

"Where a police station is used contact with mental health services will be made by the custody sergeant or forensic nurse.

"A police station should only be considered as a last resort or when the patient is also suspected of having committed an offence.

"The proportion of individuals detained under the Mental Health Act who required detention in police custody is very small compared to the number who did not."

• Coming tomorrow, nearly 60% of calls to police in parts of Kent involve people suffering from mental health issues.