Big rise in place of safety orders

There has been a large increase in the number of times police used powers to detain mentally distressed people over the past decade.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland said there were 1133 place of safety orders in 2016/17, compared with 130 in 2006/7.

The orders let officers detain a person for up to 24 hours so they can be assessed by a doctor.

The Commission said it could not say whether the increase was due to better reporting or an increased use of the orders.

It called on Police Scotland to examine the reasons for the “significant variations” in use of the orders across the country.

And it highlighted a lack of local co-ordination in the response to distressed individuals.