This is Plymouth -- MILITARY veterans should be treated with more sympathy by the criminal justice system, says city MP Oliver Colvile. Britain should take a lesson from the United States when it comes to looking after ex-Servicemen and women, the MP for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport told a Commons debate on how police deal with mental health issues. Mr Colvile said veterans should be put before special courts staffed by people with military experience. "They have been through some pretty difficult times in Afghanistan and Iraq. We need to act with much more sympathy when dealing with veterans who find themselves in the justice system." Mr Colvile told the Westminster Hall debate that in the US the Department of Veterans Affairs assesses and keeps in touch with veterans. He also called for better training for police to deal with mental health issues, and said a mental health nurse should be stationed in main police stations. "Charles Cross police station is the busiest police station in the whole of England, so I do quite a bit of work with the police station and go to talk to the police there," Mr Colvile said. "We also have more licensed premises in Plymouth than there are in the whole of Liverpool – in fact, it is nearly double the number." Mr Colvile described how a 17-year-old autistic girl was taken to Charles Cross police station. "The police found the situation very difficult, and were rather challenged by what happened. "When the girl's mother arrived to pick up her child she found that the girl was banging her head against a wall. "We need to make sure not only that there is better training for our police but, much more importantly, that community health nurses are located in our police stations, to help the police."
Reported by This is 2 days ago.
This is Plymouth -- MILITARY veterans should be treated with more sympathy by the criminal justice system, says city MP Oliver Colvile. Britain should take a lesson from the United States when it comes to looking after ex-Servicemen and women, the MP for Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport told a Commons debate on how police deal with mental health issues. Mr Colvile said veterans should be put before special courts staffed by people with military experience. "They have been through some pretty difficult times in Afghanistan and Iraq. We need to act with much more sympathy when dealing with veterans who find themselves in the justice system." Mr Colvile told the Westminster Hall debate that in the US the Department of Veterans Affairs assesses and keeps in touch with veterans. He also called for better training for police to deal with mental health issues, and said a mental health nurse should be stationed in main police stations. "Charles Cross police station is the busiest police station in the whole of England, so I do quite a bit of work with the police station and go to talk to the police there," Mr Colvile said. "We also have more licensed premises in Plymouth than there are in the whole of Liverpool – in fact, it is nearly double the number." Mr Colvile described how a 17-year-old autistic girl was taken to Charles Cross police station. "The police found the situation very difficult, and were rather challenged by what happened. "When the girl's mother arrived to pick up her child she found that the girl was banging her head against a wall. "We need to make sure not only that there is better training for our police but, much more importantly, that community health nurses are located in our police stations, to help the police."
Reported by This is 2 days ago.