The second annual Dyfed-Powys St David’s Day Conference was held in Dyfed-Powys Police Headqaurters, Llangunnor on March 1st 2018.
The focus of this years’ event was mental health and was hosted by Dyfed-Powys Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn and Chief Constable Mark Collins, National Police Chiefs Council lead for Mental Health and Policing. Chief Constable Collins took up his role as national lead for mental health in January 2017 and is committed to learning from the experiences of those living with mental ill-health; people external to policing and from those within the service itself.
Guest speakers from different fields gave presentations and answered questions from the floor. They included
Inspector Michael Brown OBE, who works with the College of Policing and National Police Chiefs Council and is the author of the MentalHealthCop blog
John Williams, a Professor of Law at Aberystwyth University, and has presented papers at numerous conferences including the International Academy of Law and Mental Health.
Mr Tony Herbert, whose son died in police custody in Somerset in 2010. Social justice and the way that we treat people with mental health issues has been important to Mr Herbert even before James’ tragic death.
Chief Constable Mark Collins said
“Mental health demand is rising not just in policing but across our whole emergency system and in society as a whole. Much of policing and mental health is not about major crisis incidents or serious adverse events; it is about the daily challenge of quietly responding to vulnerable people, often collaboratively. Today’s conference has been a great opportunity to share stories and learning but also encourage attendees to think creatively about how, in our respective roles, we can get better at early intervention.”
Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn said
“I am very happy with the success of the second Annual St David’s Day Conference. Having a focus on Mental Health provided local organisations, partners agencies and Dyfed-Powys Police itself with an opportunity to discuss and debate on a very important topic.”
Chief Inspector Rhiannon Ivens said
“I want to thank the Police and Crime Commissioner’s staff and the police staff that have worked really hard to help organise the conference in aid of supporting the police and our partners to provide the best possible service to those suffering with mental illness. More recent improvements, increased awareness, understanding and compassion for service users has led to many incidences of positive intervention and our commitment to further progress is cemented by our Force MH Strategy and Delivery Plan moving forward.”
