Prisons: the ultimate social service

Prisons: the ultimate social service

Letters, Guardian, 4 June 2011

Amelia Gentleman's article ('Joe doesn't need to be punished, he needs help', G2, 2 June) tells the tragic story of Linda Morgan's fight to get her son Joe Paraskeva released from prison. Sadly, theirs is only one of thousands of families whose lives are turned upside down when a young person becomes unwell and ends up in prison. Prisons have become the ultimate social service – the dumping ground for all society's problem people.

Some 90% of imprisoned young offenders have a mental health disorder. If punishment helped them to get well no one would be complaining, but it doesn't. It compounds their problems and distress, leading in some cases to extreme self-harm and suicide.

Joe Paraskeva's case also highlights the problematic issue of the poor transition from children's mental health services to adult services. At a key point in young people's lives there is an arbitrary transfer to adult services based solely on age rather than what is appropriate to their clinical needs or developmental maturity. Adult mental health services are configured very differently to child and adolescent services, and suddenly at 18 (as in the transfer from young offender institutions to adult prisons) a young person is deemed to have become an adult, even though 18-year-olds have distinct needs that are often not understood or supported by adult services. This transition compounds distress.

We very much hope that Joe gets the justice and the support and treatment he clearly needs. We also hope that his story serves as a wake-up call to both mental health services and the criminal justice system to provide the support and care that people in Joe's position and their families so desperately need.

Sarah Brennan Chief executive, YoungMinds, Debbie Pippard Vice-chair, Transition to Adulthood Alliance

• Your feature on a young man held on an imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence without access to appropriate treatment for his bipolar disorder highlights the disproportionate number of people with mental health problems who are serving indeterminate sentences and are not receiving proper support.

There are now some 6,000 people on IPP. An indeterminate prison sentence is likely to cause mental distress to anyone, and research has found that half of all IPP prisoners have a mental health difficulty and one in five has previously received psychiatric treatment.

The government's pledges to limit the use of IPP to the most serious offences and to invest in much-needed diversion services across the country are important steps forward. But we also need to ensure that those who are in prison now on IPP get the right support to address their offending and improve their mental health. And this support needs to continue after they are released from prison.

Sean Duggan Joint chief executive, Centre for Mental Health