The Law Man shoots himself after beating up 'Protective Services Officer' and stealing his gun

[Sterge]

"He was a member of the protective services unit working on security duties here at Parliament House – he was not a transit protect services officer working on the rail network."

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/death-comes-to-spring-street-20121211-2b85u.html#ixzz2Eng8bFfr​

Nothing to do with the blokes on trains​

 

[skilts]

Totally agree about mental health services in this country overall, because they are a joke. over the last 15 years we have sold off most of Kew Cottages for housing development, all on Mont Park and replaced them with ...... nothing. There is a desperate need to institutional care in this state rather than the care houses that they have.

The care houses are fine for some, like those with Down Syndrome and other developmental issues, but for those with more serious mental health issues, especially those with violent tendancies there is no real support or proper care, so they are free to roam around society as they please.

Whilst we might of got rid of electro shock treatment, mental health services in Australia were better in the 1950s than today.

ECT is making a comeback, I read somewhere. Despite the horrific look it provides, and the odious reputation it enjoys, it allegedly is effective, in some cases, apparently. Otherwise, mostly agree with what you've written.

The least-examined aspect of mentally ill people on the streets is that they default on taking their anti-psychotic drugs and the system, because it is overloaded, is impotent to do anything about it. The system, as it now works, dopes these people up with chemicals which make their lives a misery, but in some ways consistent, bland and controllable. However, the side-effects of these drugs are dehumanising. This same system also leaves them to cope (unassisted and under-monitored) with lives they find to be unlivable, unless they go off the drugs. When they do go off their drugs, they feel human again, with all that entails, including the florid psychotic episodes.

No answer to this issue will be found unless it is acknowledged that the problem exists, and especially if nobody is looking for one. It would be a regressive step to return to the Australian equivalents of Bedlam of the 1950s though. It should also be pointed out that even those who default on their medication are no more likely to be involved in violent episodes than the general population. It's just that when they lose it, the consequences can be radically dramatic and highly newsworthy.

After a lot of involvement, a few years ago, in a case study of a sufferer of the scourge of this drug regime, my unoptimistic conclusion was that there was no answer to the problem. That probably says more about my limitations than anything else though. More attention to the patients might be a start, but that's going to cost money. And we all know there are no votes in providing for loonies or crims. The sad thing is that these two classes of people don't even attract the, "there but for the grace etc." that other unfortunates do. Not something most people want to think about. If I had the energy, I'd despair. Luckily, when this sort of thing gets me down, I can always ring Jeff Kennett.

 

[Slax]

More attention to the patients might be a start, but that's going to cost money. And we all know there are no votes in providing for loonies or crims. The sad thing is that these two classes of people don't even attract the, "there but for the grace etc." that other unfortunates do. Not something most people want to think about. If I had the energy, I'd despair. Luckily, when this sort of thing gets me down, I can always ring Jeff Kennett.

This is the problem with the so many government departments now, all of Health and Community Services are stretched beyond their means, from mental health to hospitals and child protection.

The only real fix is something that is unthinkable to anyone who has not had to deal with these areas, raise taxes, increase funding and get the system working again.

 

[sherb]

ECT is making a comeback, I read somewhere. Despite the horrific look it provides, and the odious reputation it enjoys, it allegedly is effective, in some cases, apparently. Otherwise, mostly agree with what you've written.

Not in my case. Emphatically so.

I'll say no more.

 

[skilts]

Not in my case. Emphatically so.

I'll say no more.

Not surprised in the least.

 

[Donners]

Totally agree about mental health services in this country overall, because they are a joke. over the last 15 years we have sold off most of Kew Cottages for housing development, all on Mont Park and replaced them with ...... nothing. There is a desperate need to institutional care in this state rather than the care houses that they have.

The care houses are fine for some, like those with Down Syndrome and other developmental issues, but for those with more serious mental health issues, especially those with violent tendancies there is no real support or proper care, so they are free to roam around society as they please.

Whilst we might of got rid of electro shock treatment, mental health services in Australia were better in the 1950s than today.

Thomas Embling is an excellent and quite effective facility for those with serious mental health issues and violent tendencies, but it needs at least twice the capacity that it has now. Far too many people are bumped out of there before they have been effectively managed due to a simple lack of resources.

I agree with you to an extent, but there's a deeper issue. In my experience, those with severe mental health issues who wind up in the justice system typically have had a bad upbringing (usually through neglectful/abusive parents, often but by no means always in circumstances of poverty), mix in troubled groups and have substance abuse issues. Without support from family and friends, and with a self-destructive lifestyle, it's hard to break out of the cycle regardless of how well-funded the systems are. The state can't carry people under its wing forever, and some people struggle to manage on their own. DHS do not have a great track record which is unsurprising given the sheer number of interventions they are forced to make.

Underfunded though the mental health system undoubtedly is, there's no easy solution to the wider problem.

 

[skilts]

Thomas Embling is an excellent and quite effective facility for those with serious mental health issues and violent tendencies, but it needs at least twice the capacity that it has now. Far too many people are bumped out of there before they have been effectively managed due to a simple lack of resources.

I agree with you to an extent, but there's a deeper issue. In my experience, those with severe mental health issues who wind up in the justice system typically have had a bad upbringing (usually through neglectful/abusive parents, often but by no means always in circumstances of poverty), mix in troubled groups and have substance abuse issues. Without support from family and friends, and with a self-destructive lifestyle, it's hard to break out of the cycle regardless of how well-funded the systems are. The state can't carry people under its wing forever, and some people struggle to manage on their own. DHS do not have a great track record which is unsurprising given the sheer number of interventions they are forced to make.

Underfunded though the mental health system undoubtedly is, there's no easy solution to the wider problem.

You make fair points. The prison system is overloaded with people whose main problems are psychiatric in nature, often because, as you've pointed out, there are no beds available in the places in which they should be treated. The continual building of new prisons, to house people who shouldn't be in them, seems counter-productive.

If, as you say, the state can't manage people with these problems, and incidents like that at Parliament House continue to occur, do you foresee any likelihood of an admission by government of this state of affairs, and a request that people accept these increasingly more frequent and more senseless acts of uncontrolled, seemingly irrational violence on the streets? Probably not, I'd suggest. Government being too honest with those who elect them - government never re-elected. And that's what politics is all about, isn't it?

We seem to agree that there is no solution to this problem. Seems like we'll have to learn to live with the inevitable consequences of that. If, somewhere down the track, this state of affairs is found by the electorate to be unsatisfactory, the likelihood of it ever being addressed will still be remote. It will never be unsatisfactory enough for the voters to feel that something should be done about it, by having more money taken out of their pockets. Sadly, there never has been, and likely never will be, a government in this country competent enough to sell such an unpalatable idea.

 

[Hard_to_Beat]

In my experience, those with severe mental health issues who wind up in the justice system typically have had a bad upbringing (usually through neglectful/abusive parents, often but by no means always in circumstances of poverty), mix in troubled groups and have substance abuse issues. Without support from family and friends, and with a self-destructive lifestyle, it's hard to break out of the cycle regardless of how well-funded the systems are.

The truth encapsulated beautifully.

 

[Frank Grimes]

I thought the PSO's were supposed to be guarding the stations and in pairs. What was this guy doing by himself on the steps of parliament? and what was his mate doing? Capturing it on his i-phone to post on youtube?

I always see police officers travel with a partner. An el-cheapo security guard by himself wouldn't stand a chance from a suprise attack from behind.

 

[skilts]

I thought the PSO's were supposed to be guarding the stations and in pairs. What was this guy doing by himself on the steps of parliament? and what was his mate doing? Capturing it on his i-phone to post on youtube?

I even see police officers always travel with a partner. An el-cheapo security guard by himself wouldn't stand a chance from a suprise attack from behind.

They've been doing this job for 25 years. It used to be done by sworn police members. The major reason for the change was that it was the most boring job known to man. One which had no requirement for the skills a sworn member would bring to the task.

 

[ApplecrossWC]

I walk past the ones at parliament every day. They don't do a whole lot.