‘Right Care, Right Person’ Rolled Out Nationally

Trained professionals should deal with mental health incidents rather than the police being the default option, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.

The ‘Right Care, Right Person’ scheme is being rolled out nationally this week, but South Yorkshire Police has been doing it for some time and has already seen a reduction in demand.

The force is following the lead of Humberside Police, which tested the policy over the past three years and saved an average of 1,441 hours of police time a month.

Currently, some police forces in England and Wales attend 80% of health and social care incidents, which the new plans should reduce to between 20 and 30% within the next two years. The Government says it is providing an extra £1bn a year to cover the gap, including funding specialist mental health ambulances.

South Yorkshire Police Federation Chair Steve Kent said: “‘Right Care, Right Person’ is a practice to make sure that vulnerable members of our society, whether it be due to health issues, psychiatric issues or social services issues, are dealt with by the right authority, which isn’t always policing.

“Policing has always been the last resort that everyone comes to, and we plug the gap for the NHS and social services. We simply cannot afford to keep doing that when our cuts are probably harsher than any other public body.

“So we now have sound legal advice and proper reinforcement as to what powers we have and what responsibilities and duties of care we’ve got. We signpost the public to more appropriate caregivers, rather than policing. We’re already seeing a substantial reduction in our demand. This will take a bit of time for our partner agencies to get used to and recognise, but our force is working collaboratively with them to try and bring them along with this process.”

Steve added that officers found it frustrating that they spend a large amount of their time dealing with non-police matters, and can lose an entire shift to such incidents.

He continued: “Don’t get me wrong, there’s always going to be a place for police where violence is involved or there’s a threat to public safety or an immediate threat to life.

“This is a bit of a reset because you won’t find, in many other countries as a benchmark, the police getting involved in non-police matters and medical matters like they do in this country. It’s been happening for decades and I think it’s become almost muscle memory for people to rely on the police, and that has to change.”