A dispute with my neighbour, the first we have had in 25 years of neighbourly harmony, left me feeling I had no choice but to involve the police. I was actually hoping that the simple act of complaining to them would simply display to my neighbour that despite my having a serious mental illness, I would not tolerate being verbally abused. For some reason it still seems to some people who it is perfectly acceptable to take their irritations out on those they consider too weak to fight back and I felt a show of strength would prevent a recurrence of what I found to be a distressing and unacceptable blast of rage from my normally mild-mannered neighbour who seems for some reason to dislike my new husband. I would add that between us we have now resolved the issue and if not perfect harmony then peace has resumed between us.
Anyway I telephoned the neighbour dispute line and spoke to an officer who immediately wanted to send someone round to see me. Two young male police officers were with me within the hour. They listened intently to my description of what had occurred, asked me if I wanted to press charges, (I did not!) and then went next door to talk to my neighbour.
10 minutes later they returned and I will now relay the conversation exactly as I remember it.
Officer
“Your neighbour tells us you have a mental illness. What is your diagnosis?”
Me
“Sorry but how is that relevant?”
Officer
“Are you on medication and are you taking it as prescribed? Can you tell us the name of your doctor and any other professionals involved in your care?”
Officer(again)
“And what is your diagnosis?”
I told him who my doctor was, the name of my consultant, my CPN and assured him I was taking all my medication but did not tell him my diagnosis.
He then told me that as the police had been called to my home social services would have to be informed and would have to carry out an assessment. My husband was not home and I tried to call him but only got his answer phone.
Officer again
“could you please tell me your diagnosis?”
Me
“Borderline Personality Disorder”
Officer
“Were you aggressive toward your neighbour only she says you are mentally ill and you seem to be getting distressed now.”
The officers were not rude, aggressive, simply dismissive as soon as they realised I had a mental illness and if I call the police as a victim of a crime why do I then become the subject of a social service report?
We are all equal in the eyes of the law!?????
Apparently not!
If you are mentally ill your voice is not as loud as others and your protection not as important. The mentally ill are more likely to be bullied and victimised than healthy people and are therefore important that those responsible for protecting vulnerable people such as the police take them seriously and do not make the same mistakes they did in the past with other vulnerable groups such as children.
The sad thing is that next time I need help I will think long and hard before I ask a policeman.
borderline personality disorder 