The Twitter feed of award-winning West Midlands police inspector Michael Brown has been suspended although an investigation takes spot into no matter whether he has breached the force’s social media policy. Photograph: PA
Last Friday West Midlands police (WMP) out of the blue suspended the Twitter account of @MentalHealthCop, the enormously well-liked, award-winning feed from police officer Michael Brown. The very same day, Brown’s equally admired individual weblog which, like the Twitter account, had grow to be a “go to” destination for individuals interested in the intersection of policing and psychological wellness services, shifted from “public” to “private” accessibility only.
The abrupt alter to MentalHealthCop’s online status met with an quick and incandescent reaction from his legions of followers, who demanded an explanation from the force.
MentalHealthCop stands out between police officers on social media. Mental sickness and policing is an incredibly sensitive spot, not least simply because some of the most controversial deaths in police custody the place restraint has been utilised have involved people with mental health situations, even though above half of all deaths in custody involve an individual with a psychological wellness difficulty.
The police are frequently the initial emergency services personnel to come into get in touch with with men and women in crisis. How officers react and how they interact with wellness solutions in the detention and care of men and women can mean the difference in between exacerbating someone’s troubles and generating sure they get entry to proper care. This is the stuff MentalHealthCop has been writing about for the previous handful of years and for which he has won significant praise. In his blog, which won the mental overall health charity Mind’s 2012 digital media award, he writes fluently about the complexities of frontline policing and the law, and delivers guidance and insights into how collaboration amongst the overall health support and police forces can make a constructive big difference. On Twitter he has been popular for engaging with hard queries and alerting the public to new developments and study.
His sixteen,000 followers, who incorporate other officers, psychiatrists, social employees, overall health pros, attorneys and mental health service users are demanding to know what WMP is carrying out. When I asked on Twitter for people’s views I was inundated. (Brown himself has remained silent.) Amongst the remarks made about how “invaluable” and “unusual” MentalHealthCop was, a lot of folks questioned the suspension for getting “counterproductive” and an “very own goal”, at a time when the police’s popularity is arguably at an all time reduced.
Reflecting the sentiments of several, human rights lawyer Peter Edwards tweeted: “Quite sad day when police silence an informed voice about mental overall health and policing.” Psychiatrist Alex Langford told me: “Michael Brown’s impartiality, open-mindedness and willingness to educate have been a valuable lesson to a lot of of us.”
The WMP assistant chief constable, Garry Forsyth, took to Twitter to make clear that the account had been suspended although an alleged “breach” of WMP’s social and digital media policy by the officer was investigated. The police would not verify what the alleged breach was, but there have been recommendations that it was for tweeting about the extent of mental illness amid police officers.
An official statement stated: “Specified factors of the officer’s communication is at present currently being investigated for alleged misuse.” If WMP fails to offer a total explanation for its action or decides to close the Twitter account for good, we can assume additional outrage. The episode raises fundamental questions about the police’s use of social media and throws doubt on claims about transparency.
Why we require the on-line presence of MentalHealthCop | Mary O"Hara
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