Alarm over Met decision on mental health calls

ALARM has been expressed at the prospect of Metropolitan Police officers not attending emergency calls if they are linked to mental health incidents.

The force’s commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has written to health and social care services to say police will no longer attend after August 31 unless there is a threat to life.

The move, first reported by The Guardian, is designed to free up officers to spend more time on their core roles, rather than dealing with patients in need of medical help from experts.

But serious concerns have been raised about what the policy change could mean for vulnerable individuals, with questions raised too about whether it will prove practical on the ground.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said that the force needed to “redress the imbalance of responsibility”, noting the considerable amount of time taken up by such incidents. But a former Inspector of Constabulary warned that the change could lead to a “vacuum” in care and create a “terrible quandary” for members of the public.

Humberside Police introduced a similar policy, known as Right Care, Right Person (RCRP) in 2020, with mental health professionals dealing with calls.

An inspection by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire and Rescue Services in November found the switch had saved the force, which has mental health workers from the charity Mind in the force control room, 1,100 police hours per month and said the public received “more timely care from the most appropriate care provider”.

Dr Adrian James, President of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said that the apparent move by the Met to “go it alone” was “unhelpful”.