Government says it is making plans to allocate budgetary and manpower resources to meet the treatment needs of the mentally ill who are incarcerated.

“The objective is to give inmates access to a standard of treatment that is consistent with their rights as human beings and get them rehabilitated,” state minister for national security Pearnel Charles Jr said early last week following a meeting to discuss the varying circumstances of people who would be deemed unfit to plead, and the establishment of a system to redirect them to the appropriate treatment centres.

The meeting involved representatives from the national security, justice, and health ministries, as well as and mental health stakeholders.

Senator Charles Jr said his ministry was looking to engage all the relevant partners in order to ensure “that persons won’t get caught in a situation where they commit crimes because of irrationality; and for those who are incarcerated with mental health conditions, we want to ensure that they are able to get assessed”.

In tandem with that, the state minister said that a proposal has been made to develop psychiatric units in correctional departments with help from the health ministry, in order to provide acute care to the mentally ill.