Cops spend 800,000 hours a year waiting with mental health patients ‘losing valuable policing time’
COPS are spending 800,000 hours a year waiting with mental health patients, a report exposes.
Research shows that while charge rates have hit a decade low, forces are spending time on wellbeing incidents found to not require police services.
Mental health callouts surged between 2019 and 2021 — more than tripling for Suffolk Constabulary, which saw a 342 per cent rise.
Callouts in Norfolk surged by 260 per cent and Northamptonshire 90 per cent.
The Mental Health Act means cops must stay with at-risk individuals for up to 24 hours until medics can take over.
But despite these incidents happening 33,000 times a year, 80 per cent of them do not require policing services.
The 800,000 hours spent could be used to tackle 1.3million antisocial behaviour reports.
The time could also be used to attend 500,000 burglaries, or 400,000 domestic abuse cases, think tank Onward notes in its analysis.
Responding to the news today, Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp said: “Valuable policing time is lost to ushering mental health patients to hospitals, waiting with them in A&E, or checking in on their welfare.
“Most of these tasks don’t require the police, yet they are often the ones left to fill the gaps.
“This is why the last Government announced the roll-out of Right Care, Right Person, which shifts mental health work back to the NHS.
“It is vital that the new Government ensures this is delivered.”
