North East MSP voices concerns as police ‘first line of response’ for mental health incidents
Police officers are attending thousands of incidents each year involving mental health across the north east, an MSP has revealed.
Scottish Conservative deputy health spokesperson and North East MSP Tess White warned that officers were now becoming the “first line of response” for mental health incidents amid strain on NHS and ambulance staff.
New figures obtained from Police Scotland show the North East Division, which involves Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray, have been asked to attend 1640 mental health incidents so far this year.
In Moray, this saw police attend some 209 mental health incidents, with 21 not attended. In Aberdeenshire North, the respective figures were 328 and 64 respectively.
Aberdeen North took the highest toll on officers, resulting in 449 mental health alerts this year until September 10.
On average, north-east police officers are being called to almost 170 mental health incidents each month and around six per day.
Ms White said: “Worryingly, our police officers have become the first line of response for attending mental health incidents in the north-east.
“The pressures of mental health call outs are taking officers away from preventing and investigating crime at a time when police numbers are plummeting.
“The police show great compassion when dealing with these complex cases but it’s vital the right people who are medically trained and skilled to assist with mental health are on the scene to help.
“That is why we are calling on the SNP government to increase mental health spending to 10 per cent of the frontline NHS budget which would alleviate the strain on our emergency services.
“This will ensure that people are treated before they find themselves in a crisis while helping to free up considerable amounts of police time to focus on keeping our communities safe.”
