Mental Health & Policing: A perspective from the ‘front-line’ of police custody

This small scale research study was carried out by Leeds Beckett University in collaboration with West Midlands Police, to explore how mental health issues impact on police custody suites. A significant number of people with mental illness will come into contact with the police on a daily basis, and Bradley (2009) proposed that, there needs to be improvements made to police training in mental health awareness and where appropriate, people with mental illness should be diverted to suitable services which meet their needs. Despite this, the Independent Commission on Mental Health and Policing (2013) noted cases where people have, “died or [have been] seriously injured following police contact, or [within] police custody” (p.6), and the findings from this review inform police conduct around the safety of detainees. The Crisis Care Concordant promotes partnerships between the police, health and social care to improve the experience of people in mental health crisis (Department of Health 2014a) and this has led to the provision in some areas, of ‘street triage’ teams, with a move to have psychiatric nurses based within police custody suites (Department of Health 2014b). These initiatives focus on reducing the use of Section 136 detentions under the Mental Health Act (1983), with the aim of improving the experience of people who find themselves in a mental health crisis (NHS England 2015). This research was a case study based in the West Midlands which explored the experience of custody support officers, detention and escort officers, triage workers, custody sergeants and inspectors, working with people with mental health difficulties. Although this study was located in the West Midlands the findings provide key insights into the tensions that exist when dealing with mental health difficulties within police custody, further research is required to inform practice

Representation of South Asian people in randomised clinical trials: analysis of trials' data

Excluding patients of ethnic minority groups from clinical trials is unethical, introduces substantial bias, and means that findings are based on unrepresentative populations. The National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act 1993 requires that all minority groups be represented in the sample in research projects supported by the National Institutes of Health, unless there is a clear and compelling justification not to do so. In the United Kingdom no such legislation exists

A miniature UV-VIS spectrometer for the surface of Mars

A miniature spectrometer is in the process of development for a future Mars mission, to measure the UV-VIS spectrum encountered at the martian surface. With an intended mass of ~100 g, the spectrometer is planned as part of the ESA ExoMars mission

Trace gas transport in the subsurface of Mars

The ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO) will have the capability of detecting and characterizing a broad suite of trace gases in the atmosphere of Mars. Interpreting the results of this mission will require an understanding of how these trace gases are transported from their sources, which may be deep underground, to the atmosphere. Here we present results of modeling designed to measure the timescales of release from putative subsurface methane sources. These transport timescales are far longer than mixing times in the atmosphere and could be up to 10 million years

Technology, agency, critique:An interview with Claudia Aradau

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Expression of connexins in human preimplantation embryos in vitro

Intercellular communication via gap junctions is required to coordinate developmental processes in the mammalian embryo. We have investigated if the connexin (Cx) isoforms known to form gap junctions in rodent preimplantation embryos are also expressed in human embryos, with the aim of identifying species differences in communication patterns in early development. Using a combination of polyA PCR and immunocytochemistry we have assessed the expression of Cx26, Cx31, Cx32, Cx40, Cx43 and Cx45 which are thought to be important in early rodent embryos. The results demonstrate that Cx31 and Cx43 are the main connexin isoforms expressed in human preimplantation embryos and that these isoforms are co-expressed in the blastocyst. Cx45 protein is expressed in the blastocyst but the protein may be translated from a generally low level of transcripts: which could only be detected in the PN to 4-cell embryos. Interestingly, Cx40, which is expressed by the extravillous trophoblast in the early human placenta, was not found to be expressed in the blastocyst trophectoderm from which this tissue develops. All of the connexin isoforms in human preimplantation embryos are also found in rodents pointing to a common regulation of these connexins in development of rodent and human early embryos and perhaps other species

Police detainee perspectives on CCTV

Surveillance technologies have been playing an increasingly important role in crime prevention and detection, particularly with costeffective improvements in resolution and mobility. There remains mixed evidence on the effectiveness of this technology for deterrence and detection and whether use results in displacement. In this study, 899 adult police detainees were interviewed about their views and experiences of CCTV through an addendum to the Drug Use Monitoring in Australia (DUMA) program. Police detainees tended to regard CCTV as effective in reducing crime, particularly violent crime, but a significant number felt it would not prevent any crime. Nonetheless, for some the presence of CCTV deterred them from committing crime, although detainees were more likely to carry out their intended behaviours regardless of CCTV. Detainees identified a range of simple strategies for avoiding surveillance cameras, such as covering their face or turning away from the cameras. The findings have implications for the continued use of CCTV as a crime prevention and reduction tool