All front-line officers at county police force get mental health training
A POLICE force in Yorkshire is planning to expand specialist training in mental health issues to all front-line staff after a trial project showed it improves officers’ attitudes and confidence in dealing with situations.
In the trial in North Yorkshire, mental health professionals provided training for a randomly selected group of 230 officers aimed at improving their understanding of and ability to identify people with mental health needs.
Now the trial has been analysed in detail, comparing calls attended by officers who received the training with calls attended by officers who had not.
The assessment, by the University of York, found that of 9,157 calls looked at within the study, 10 per cent were given a mental health tag.
The study revealed that the training of front-line officers did not reduce the number of incidents reported to the police up to six months after its delivery but that it may have a positive effect on how the police record incidents involving individuals with mental health problems.
The trial was part of Connect, a project between the University of York and North Yorkshire Police on new approaches to dealing with mental health problems.
Deputy Chief Constable Lisa Winward described the project as “useful and valuable” and said the training would now be given to all front-line officers.