Woman with autism held in police cells for 3 days

[Jen]

I'm glad I'm not the only person upset about this one (http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/2284195/Autistic-girl-to-leave-police-cells). An 18 year old woman with autism, who has a mental age of 11, was held in police cells for 3 days before being allowed to go to a mental hospital.

Nelson Bays police area commander Inspector Brian McGurk said Steenson's mother had contacted police early Saturday morning to say her daughter was behaving aggressively and threatening her.

Steenson was arrested on an outstanding warrant on charges of wilful damage and possessing an offensive weapon, for allegedly taking to her neighbour's windows with a golf club on October 18 last year.

She also faced charges of assaulting and using threatening behaviour against her mother on March 8.

Yeah, so we've got two charges the police can put on anybody for anything, and this girl gets locked up for 3 days. She belongs in a hospital and her mom called the police to get her hospitalized. Not to get her locked up in jail.

Luckily, John Key is on the young lady's side and says the cells were not the place for this girl. I hope this can lead to the improvement of mental health services in New Zealand, because mentally ill people belong in the hospital, not in the police cells, and throwing them into the police cells prevents people (and families) who genuinely need help from seeking it.

[Kirtan]

cops arent mean to be social workers too. aggressive behavior is aggressive behavior

[Jen]

If the aggressive behaviour is a manifestation of a person's disability, they should be transferred to a mental institution within hours, not days.

[jimmy]

I agree with Jen. :eek: Unfortunately, this sort of thing is all too common, regardless of country.

[Jen]

The thing is, I get a lot of people saying they don't believe that I was put in a police cell because someone told the police I'd threatened to kill myself. Not because I was running around saying it in public, but because someone who doesn't even know my last name called the police in a city hundreds of miles away and said I'd said I was suicidal.

I know I'm not supposed to bring it up again, but this proves my point--the mental health system in New Zealand is failing. Completely failing. For starters, there is way too much police involvement which stops people who want help for asking for it. I mean, I told my friend I was suicidal and I got locked in jail. God forbid I had told a counsellor who the police would have taken even more seriously! I think about killing myself often, and with reason. But I will never seek help again in this country because of the police involvement. Drug abusers are accorded better treatment and more privacy when they seek help.