Calls for notification when forensic mental health patients released

Martin Lyall was deemed unfit to stand trial after he killed Kevan Newman and attempted to murder Bob Norcross in Henderson in 2005. Photo / NZ Herald

The Police Association is calling for frontline cops to be notified when forensic mental health patients are released back into the community.

Currently there is obligation for mental health services to alert police to the release of patients like Martin Robert Lyall, who allegedly murdered Kevan Newman in 2005 but was deemed unfit to plead.

A "glitch" in the Ministry of Health's victim notification system meant Mr Newman's partner and children were not told Lyall had been released. He has been spending time and living in the community since 2013 but the registered victims found out just weeks ago after a police officer involved in the case chanced upon on the alleged killer and called them.

Associate Minister for Health Sam Lotu-Iiga stepped in after the story broke in the Weekend Herald and demanded immediate changes to the notification system. He has not ruled out further action including a change to legislation that would make it a requirement to notify police.

Police Association spokesman Luke Shadbolt said the organisation would support that 100 per cent.

He said for police to do their primary job - protect the community and reduce the number of victims - information sharing about who was living in their patch was vital.

"It is quite incredible that mental health patients don't fall under the same criteria that we see for people released on bail, from prison or on probation," he told the Herald this morning.

He appreciated there were privacy issues when it came to health boards passing on information about mental health patients to other agencies.

"The fact of the matter is that we don't need to know the ins and outs. We don't need to know their particular medical issues. We just need to know they are there - as do the victims.

"It's about advising victims and reducing the risk to the public. It's one of these common sense things - our members are trying to reduce the number of victims of crime and being able to track people who might pose a risk."

Mr Shadbolt said a number of West Auckland police had raised concerns about the Lyall case.

He urged the Government to include police in notifications and would be keeping an eye on cross-agency discussions between the Ministry of Health, Police and Corrections.

"Police are already advised when people are released by Corrections I think it's a natural progression that it moves on to the people under the health sector. It is unusual that we've got such good legislation around people being released on bail and from prisons but there seems to be a loophole around people that fall under district health boards."