Talk to anyone who has whistleblowed on the complete system. If the Police actioned the drug network would have been pulled apart in 2011.
Delusional is the label they give us. Hospitals provide the evidence, because they think if it was real the police would have acted. Juanita Nielsen will expose the corruption within the system.
NSW Police host biennial conference on mental health related issues in Sydney
Monday, 02 March 2015 03:35:31 PM
A biennial conference focused on improving policing strategies surrounding mental health related issues will begin in Sydney tomorrow.
The theme of this year’s conference is suicide prevention, intervention and postvention.
The NSW Police Force Mental Health Intervention Team (MHIT) will host the two-day conference at the University of NSW in Kensington tomorrow (Tuesday 3 March 2015), which brings together more than 100 officers from across the state.
The Governor of NSW, His Excellency General The Honourable David Hurley, AC, DSC (Retired), will officially open the Mental Health Contact Officer Conference, before the Minister for Police and Emergency Services, Stuart Ayres, and NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione, APM, address attendees.
The first key note speaker will be Kevin Briggs, a retired Sergeant from the California Highway Patrol whose regular duties included patrolling the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco where he successfully intervened in more than two hundred suicide attempts. He became known as the ‘Guardian of the Golden Gate Bridge.’
He’ll be joined by author and mental health advocate Kevin Hines, the second key note speaker, who is one of only 33 people to have survived a suicide attempt off the Golden Gate Bridge. He’s now an international presenter who shares his experiences and hosts discussions on suicide prevention and mental health.
The conference will bring together 76 NSW Police Inspectors who hold the Mental Health Contact Officer position within their commands across the state; and the six superintendants who manage the Mental Health Corporate Spokesperson portfolio for each of the policing regions.
Officers from specialist units as well as members of the Executive Team will also attend the conference.
The aim of the conference is to advance the professional development of these officers, promote working in harmony with other organisations in the suicide prevention space and discuss future strategies for the NSW Police regarding mental health issues.
The MHIT became a fulltime unit of the NSW Police Force in July 2009 following a successful two-year pilot program.
It’s a collaborative effort with NSW Health and has trained 1500 officers to date in its award winning intensive four-day mental health training program.
The program aims to provide frontline police with practical skills to assist them in helping people in the community living with mental illness who may be experiencing a mental health crisis event.
It also strives to educate police so they’re better equipped to identify behaviours in the field that may indicate mental illness, while developing communication strategies as well as risk assessment, de-escalation and crisis intervention techniques.
The senior officers attending the conference have completed the four day MHIT training program and are responsible for managing mental health issues within their local area command, while at the same time, ensuring an effective liaison with other government and private sector stakeholders.
The MHIT has also developed a one-day mental health training and awareness program that began rolling out state-wide from February 2014, and has now successfully trained more than 9000 officers.
It is anticipated that by the end of 2015 all NSW Police Officers will have received formal mental health awareness training.
The one-day program is also being delivered to all new recruits at the Police Academy in Goulburn so they’re best equipped when they begin their career with the police force.
A number of external stakeholders will also be taking part in the conference including Lifeline, the Black Dog Institute, Headspace, Suicide Prevention Australia and the R U Okay Day Foundation.
NSW Police Corporate Sponsor for Mental Health Detective Superintendant David Donohue said the role of the Mental Health Contact Officer is a vital one and this conference improves their education, skills and the resulting service to the community.
“The NSW Police attended more than 47,000 mental health related incidents in 2014 so coming together to discuss and advance strategies to address these incidents is of utmost importance,” Det Supt Donohue said.
“It’s also crucial these officers are kept informed on current and relevant issues, including legislative requirements and protocols.
“We’ll continue to develop and deliver both of our training programs with the aim of all officers completing either one or both packages by the end of 2015, which will be an amazing milestone for the NSW Police and MHIT.
“There’ve been many great accomplishments for policing and mental health in recent years and our aim is to continue that progress while maintaining safe and respectful service for members of the community who are living with mental illness.”
