Closer working between emergency services has cut police attendance at mental health incidents by 13% and increased use of the mental health crisis team by 12% in recent years, according to the latest police annual report.
Mental health director Andy Weir said the change is the result of a more coordinated approach between police, ambulance and mental health services – which directs such callouts to specialist responders instead of the police.
“Partly, it’s the joint work with the police… we’ve done a load of work with them about diverting inappropriate stuff from them into the Crisis Teams,” Mr Weir said.
“We’ve got a tripartite arrangement… a policy between us, the police and the ambulance service, how we work together around this sort of stuff, and we have regular meetings where we talk about it.”
He said that increased awareness is also a factor – with health services encouraging those in a mental health emergency to use the crisis team rather than attend the Emergency Department.
Police chief Robin Smith added: ““Whilst determined to provide the best service to Islanders, the police are not always the most appropriate agency to address [health-related] matters.
“We are committed to the ‘right care, right person’ initiative that involves signposting callers to our partners agencies who may be in a better position to help.”
The annual police report report said that the “effective use” of the mental health triage team has seen an increase from 15% in 2022 to 27% in 2024 – while mental health incidents police attend have reduced by 13%.
