2022/24914 - Involvement of the police with people who are mentally ill

REQUEST

I wish to make a freedom of information request.

Forces have adopted many different interventions to try and prevent these detentions. I have set out below several of these. I would like to ask under the FOI, which of these - if any - are in operation in your force area. You may also operate more than one for example it may be different in rural and urban areas, or it may differ in different Health Authority areas. It may also be that you operate something else altogether, in which case could I ask what for a brief description of it.

The 3 commonest interventions include:

1. Highly trained police officers who respond to mental health incidents.
2. Joint 'triage' patrols of police officers and mental health professionals who respond to incidents.
3. A telephone 'triage' system where officers can ring a mental health professional when they are dealing with someone who is mentally ill to seek advice before they detain someone.

RESPONSE