Father claims son who took own life should not have been given court curfew
Adam Brown. Pictures: Courtesy of Brown family - Credit: Archant
The father of a 'troubled' 22-year-old man who took his own life claims his son should never have been given a curfew by the courts.
Family with 22-year-old Adam Brown's coffin in the fishing boat for his funeral at Cromer. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY - Credit: Copyright: Archant 2018
Adam Brown was found hanged in the stairwell of the building he lived in at Cromer High Street on June 1.
An inquest at Norfolk Coroner's Court on Tuesday heard how he had a long history of mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction.
But his father Shawn Brown believed his son would still be here had the courts not imposed a curfew, monitored by an electronic tag.
He said: 'Because of Adam's history of self harm and suicide attempts, he would have benefitted from either being sectioned or remanded in custody until his court hearing in June.
Family with 22-year-old Adam Brown's coffin in the fishing boat for his funeral at Cromer. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY - Credit: Copyright: Archant 2018
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'By confining someone with a history of suicide [attempts] to a place from 7pm to 7am, you may as well give them a gun with the bullets.'
Mr Brown said if his son had not been tagged, he would have gone to a family member for help rather than take his own life.
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He said his son was given the curfew in April for breaching a court order.
The inquest heard how Mr Brown was first sectioned aged 12 and complained of hearing voices in his head.
Friends and family follow the coffin in the fishing boat through Cromer for 22-year-old Adam Brown's funeral. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY - Credit: Copyright: Archant 2018
Tanya Rimmer, clinical team leader at the mental health liaison service, said an assessment in 2017 found Mr Brown was in no danger of suicide when sober.
In April 2018 a safety plan was developed for him and he was referred to specialist mental health services.
However, the inquest heard he did not attend an assessment on May 10.
He missed a second assessment on May 25, but a serious incident requiring investigation report from Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation NHS Trust (NSFT) confirmed this was due to an error in a letter sent to him.
The report said there were 'no specific gaps or errors' identified where services should have acted differently to prevent the incident.
Assistant coroner, Johanna Thompson, said concerns around the electronic tag did not fall within the scope of the inquest, adding that there were other issues that led to Mr Brown's deterioration in mood.
Giving a narrative conclusion, she said Mr Brown took his own life while under the influence of alcohol, but his intent in doing so remained unclear.
