Top cop stresses police will not be 'stepping away from people in need'

Chief Constable Chris Noble has said his officers often spend more time in A&E with vulnerable people than dealing with other issues, such as domestic abuse or tackling crime.

He was previously involved in starting the “Right Care Right Person” scheme in Humberside, which is now being rolled out nationally. It aims to ensure that if an incident is reported to police that involves concerns for a person’s mental health or medical issues, that person receives a response from the most appropriate organisation.

A report to the latest police performance meeting in Staffordshire said: “The Right Care, Right Person model will ensure that when there are concerns for a person’s welfare linked to mental health, medical or social care issues, the right person with the right skills, training and experience will respond. In many of the cases we have examined, whilst Staffordshire Police did respond, it has been the case that a police officer was not actually the right resource for the caller.

“We recognise that this move represents a significant cultural change, however, this is a policy that has been successfully implemented in forces across the country, including Humberside, North Yorkshire and West Mercia and has the support of the Home Secretary.The National Police Chiefs’ Council is due to release a toolkit and the College of Policing is preparing a National Partnership Agreement, both of which will form a key part of our approach in Staffordshire.”

Staffordshire’s Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Ben Adams, speaking at the meeting, said: “I understand there’s been real progress been made nationally between the Home Office and health under the banner of Right Care, Right Person. Are we – and indeed our partners in the NHS- ready to take advantage of that?”

Chief Constable Noble said: “It was a piece of work I was involved in starting in Humberside, which is the national force leading in this. But a number of other forces have now adopted it.

“Whenever someone contacts the police, very often the police are not the lead agency and not best equipped to care for that individual. If someone rings up with a mental health issue, or another challenge around health, education or a chaotic lifestyle, police will not be putting the phone down on that individual but we will be identifying the right agency to pick up those responsibilities.

“It frustrates me greatly that my officers are spending more time very often on a shift in an A&E department, looking after a vulnerable person, than they are in the home of someone who has suffered domestic abuse, or caring for children or pro-actively tackling crime. Something has to change if policing is going to be allowed to focus on crime and disorder.

“That’s a key way of doing it. But it’s most definitely not stepping away from people in need.

“It will actually maybe mean more time spent in our contact centre, very carefully going through someone’s story and vulnerabilities and then signposting them the right way. It will hopefully mean more time for our officers on the ground to spend time dealing with crime and disorder.”

Mr Adams replied: “I think the public will welcome that step. You and I are engaged with the Integrated Care Board and Partnership – I know from their perspective they are investing and resourcing, particularly in ambulance areas, weekend and out of hours provision, particularly for those in mental health crisis, and that’s what is necessary to close the gap.”