LynnEmslie

Articles by: Lynn Emslie

A distressed man sits on stairs, arms wrapped around his knees, symbolizing feelings of isolation and vulnerability, relevant to discussions on mental health in policing contexts.

Policing and mental health: Getting the partnership right to prevent deaths

7th April 2023

Lynn Emslie, Chair, Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody

OPINION: Police are increasingly the first point of contact to respond to those in mental health crisis, but when restraint has been the focus of such a response, some cases have led to tragic consequences; Lynn Emslie, Chair of the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody, believes a partnership response from policing and health services could help to avoid future fatalities.

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Lynn Emslie
Chair, Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody

Profile
With a career covering acute healthcare, mental health, health in criminal justice and local authority social services, Lynn Emslie – the Chair of the IAPDC – holds several non-executive director, advisor and trustee roles across the charitable, research and regulatory sector. Focusing on mental health and people with complex needs, Lynn has championed the requirement to improve access to services, based on a person-centred approach, and reduce health inequalities. Working strategically across the Department of Health and NHS, Lynn worked to inform policy by linking academic research into service development, including the voluntary and private sectors. She has led NHS commissioning and quality monitoring within NHS England, supported the implementation of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), the care planning process for prisoners at risk of suicide and self-harm, and worked with the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman on Death in Custody clinical reviews. Since 2017, Lynn has held the role of Trustee at Nacro, a social justice charity. She is Chair of Arc, a homeless charity local to Somerset.