Several senior police officers from formations across the country met today with members of the Mental Health Department at the George Price Center in Belmopan. The main item on the agenda was to discuss matters that have to do with the arresting of persons with mental disabilities. Several times in the past police have failed to levy charges against an individual because of the person's apparent mental instability. In 2014 a protocol on Mental Health was developed in the police manual to address this same concern. But as with everything, the protocol presented other problems. So today a meeting was convened to tighten up some of those loose ends on the mental health protocol of the police manual.
Some of those comments and recommendations noted at today's round table discussion will be taken up to the highest form of Government in the hopes of using it as a guide to develop a legal module for authorities in the law enforcement that find themselves in situations dealing with mentally ill persons.
