February 12, 2013
BC Representative for Children – Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond
Honouring Kaitlynne, Max and Cordon
Responses to the recent announcement by Stephen Harper of the government’s intent to deal differently – read more harshly – with NCR’s have been varied but none more powerful than this report tabled in the BC legislature in March 2012 after Allan Schoenborn murdered his three children. There was lots of warning involving social workers and police but the real problem was a failure in intervention for the serious mental health problems identified well in advance of the tragedy. Sadly, none of the recommendations from this report have gotten any attention in the proposed legislation. How do we honour the children without ensuring that such early warnings are not ignored again?
Barbara Levesque, Executive Director, John Howard Society of the North Okanagan / Kootenay Region of BC offers these thoughts: “It’s interesting that Harper chose the Schoenborn case to decorate his new crime agenda for the mentally ill. The Representative for Children and Youth in BC, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, published a thorough analysis of the case titled “Honouring Kaitlynne, Max and Cordon.
“The deaths of these children were preventable. Focusing on the horse that has already left the barn does little to prevent crime, but time and time again this is what our government chooses to do. Why? Because it’s easier than truly focusing on public safety. And it makes way better television than talking about poorly trained social workers, lack of coordination between public safety orgs and social services, and the absence of appropriate services for women living with a violent, mentally ill spouse.
“The failures of the criminal justice system with regard to Schoenborn and his children are clearly outlined in the report. But none of Turpel-Lafond’s recommendations are part of the new crime and the mentally ill “strategy”. Not one.
“Of course it’s going to happen again – because nothing’s changed. And then we’ll again see the pictures of dead children trotted out to satisfy a society eager for vengeance and a political machine unashamedly using their images to drive an agenda.”
Says Graham Stewart: “In talking about “victims” and using language that criminalizes the mentally ill, they (the government) mask the fact that those with such devastating mental illnesses are surely victims as well. Coming to the realization that you killed your children while in a delusional state must be horrific. But this government has one tool for everything – prison. It is hard to see any of this as prevention, rhetoric aside, but it fits very well with vengeance. We have to call it “vengeance” as the concept of punishment is clearly not applicable.”
The report itself is lengthy (130 pages) but there is an excellent Executive Summary (5 pages) at the link. http://www.rcybc.ca/Images/PDFs/Reports/RCY-SchoenbornReportFINAL%20Feb%2027.pdf
Huffington Post Blog – Diane Weber Bederman
Time to Remove “Mental” from Mental Illness
Research seems to show that mental illness is in the brain, not the mind, so, says Weber-Bederman, why not call it brain illness, and perhaps remove a lot of fearful images and obstacles to treatment? The justice system, witness the case of Ashley Smith, can not be the answer. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/diane-bederman/mental-illness-bell-talk_b_2581626.html
Winnipeg Free Press – Dan Lett
Let’s talk about punishing mentally ill: New high-risk designation plays to our ignorance
The stats say that NCR is rare and less than 3% re-offend, and in truth NCR is a precise medical determination that the person could not have understood what he/ she had done. Says Lett: “It is the justice system’s way of acknowledging some people are so sick, they should not be punished as criminals.” So what, beyond ignorance of mental illness, makes us harden the punishment? http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/columnists/lets-talk-about-punishing-mentally-ill-190643381.html
Vera Institute of Justice (N.Y.)
Youth, Safety, and Violence: Schools, Communities, and Mental Health
This policy brief contributes to the urgent national conversation about violence against children, and provides three perspectives from Vera experts on school safety, mental illness, and the delivery of mental health services. The perspectives draw on Vera’s work with government partners in each of these areas to develop and implement ways of enhancing the safety, effectiveness, and fairness of systems. They offer recommendations on placing police in schools, considering mental health care as a public health issue, and providing mental health care service providers with the knowledge needed to prevent violence. Vera released the brief at a Congressional staff briefing in Washington, DC on February 12, 2013. Link has a down-loadable pdf of 12 pages. http://www.vera.org/pubs/youth-safety-and-violence