THE States police are ‘under-resourced’ and too much time is spent dealing with mental-health incidents and searches for young Islanders who have gone missing from care, the former chair of the Jersey Police Authority has said.
Just weeks after the Met Police announced that it would stop responding to most mental-health calls, Dr Jason Lane has added his voice to nationwide concerns that forces are often being used as the service of last resort.
He said that more resources should be applied to providing better mental-health support and that the police should be allowed to focus on protecting the public.
Dr Lane spoke out at a time when police forces across the British Isles, including Jersey, have reported that mental-health calls are taking up an increasing proportion of officers’ time.
The most recent figures for the Island show a 27% rise in mental-health-related incidents, prompting a call from police chief Robin Smith last November for more specialist help to be made available.
Dr Lane said ‘the inexorable increase in these types of incidents’ caused ‘the greatest worry’ he had experienced in nine-and-a-half years as a member of the police authority.
Speaking to the JEP, he said: ‘When you get a vulnerable person relapsing into crisis umpteen times and the police are called out umpteen times to ensure they won’t hurt themselves, nothing will change.
‘That person needs specialist assessment and treatment – the police won’t be able to cure the problem; it’s not their field.’
Having stepped down from his position, Dr Lane said he wanted to acknowledge the role of the police, but also to focus on areas where the Island could do better.
He said: ‘I didn’t think it was appropriate to speak publicly while I was chair and trying to support the [Home Affairs] minister [Deputy Helen Miles] – I think she’s doing a brilliant job in trying to get more resources, so I’m not having a pop at her.’
Instead of looking at ‘efficiencies’ which effectively meant cuts to services, Dr Lane said the government should focus on how to deliver services better.
He estimated that using police officers to respond to mental-health calls was costing the Island at least £1 million per year, and that better value would be achieved through greater investment.
‘The government misses opportunities to achieve better value by allowing the police to be used as a service of last resort,’ he said. ‘The core duty of the police is to protect the public by detecting and preventing crime. However, this seems to be an ever-decreasing part of their function.’
Dr Lane said he would not like to see Jersey reach the situation experienced by some UK forces struggling to cope with the volume of call-outs.
The JEP understands that a new police authority chair has been chosen, with the successful applicant currently undergoing the necessary clearance checks before being formally announced.
