Professor Guatam Gulati:

I thank the Senator. I agree with all of her points. It is worth stating that people are more likely to be incarcerated if they have a mental illness or an intellectual disability. It should not be the case but that is what happens. People are more likely to be incarcerated if they are homeless, and they are more likely to be homeless if they have a mental illness or an intellectual disability. These are all interlinked vulnerabilities. I want to make a concrete recommendation to the committee. It should exert its influence to make prison a sanction of last resort for everyone. That is where the answer lies. A few months ago, I met a young man in prison. He was from one of the eastern counties. He was young and he had been educated. It was his first offence and it was not a serious one. I take the Senator's point that the definition of "serious offence" is open to different interpretations. In this case, it was not a serious offence. He was so unwell that he suffered with a condition called catatonia. We used to read about catatonia in books because it is more or less gone as a condition. However, it means that the person is so unwell that they literally cannot move; they are like a statue sitting on their bed. It also means that they are not eating and drinking. It is only a matter of time before they die unless there is intervention. Something has gone wrong in the whole pathway. That person has been through a policing system, has been in court and is now in prison. He is like that in prison and unless we intervene he could pass days in that state. That is where legislation is important because we need legislation to get individuals the urgent care they need. This particular person did get the care he needed.