CHILDREN IN CARE
Home truths
NEXT month, an inquest will ask why a teenage girl was able to clamber out of the back seat of a police car, escape through the front passenger door and run across the M5 motorway, where she was hit and killed by a vehicle.
To understand how the tragedy came to pass, a jury will have to work through every systemic failure which led to Tamzin Hall’s (pictured) arrest last November, and the many opportunities that were missed to support her: in school, where she was often excluded and left in isolation rooms; by mental health services that took too long to diagnose her autism and recognise she was in crisis; and ultimately by social services and police. The inquest might start by asking why Tamzin was ever arrested, when compassionate support was what she needed.