Police are frustrated with mental health callouts – here’s how to reduce their involvement and improve support

Police in New Zealand – as with many other jurisdictions – are facing significant growth in callouts to mental health incidents, and are considering various approaches; new research by Auckland University of Technology Associate Professor Katey Thom, and Sarah Gordon, Associate Professor in Psychology at the University of Otago, suggests that shifting to a trauma-informed support system could improve responses and reduce police involvement.

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Our research shows a shift to a trauma-informed support system could be a game changer. It has the potential to greatly reduce police involvement while improving support for individuals in distress.

Jurisdictions around the world are struggling with the growing number of police callouts to respond to people in mental health distress. New Zealand is no exception. In the past five years, police callouts to mental health incidents have increased by 64% to 77,043.

Despite additional funding for 500 frontline officers in the latest budget, the situation is unlikely to get better.

Calls are growing for a different approach that provides a health-led response to all mental health events. However, uncertainty remains about what this could look like in practice.

Our research shows a shift to a trauma-informed support system could be a game changer. It has the potential to greatly reduce police involvement while improving support for individuals in distress.

The research involved academics from various universities across New Zealand collaborating with NZ Police and people who had experienced a police response while in mental distress.

We spoke with 28 individuals to listen to their experiences of interacting with the police. A specific focus was how police officers either helped or hindered them during times of mental distress.

Lees verder via policinginsight.com

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