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It is time for other Government agencies to “step up” and do their part for people in mental distress rather than relying on police to “babysit”, Police Minister Mark Mitchell says.
He said health staff, patients, and members of the public were already being injured as a direct result of the police pull-back.
Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s Wellington Mornings host Nick Mills today, Mitchell said there would always be times when police were needed at mental health callouts, but there were many where they weren’t.
“The rest of the system has got used to having the police, the police has always been seen as the 24/7 government agency, and over time they’ve picked up a whole lot of work that is not their core role,” Mitchell said.
“Other agencies are going to have to step up and they are going to have to build out some more capability.”
Mitchell spoke of one case where two police officers were called to a job where a 19-year-old woman was experiencing suicidal thoughts.
“She needs proper support,” he said.
“Those police officers were tied up for an entire shift sitting in an ED looking after her. They’re not trained to do that.”
Police Minister Mark Mitchell made the comments on Newstalk ZB's Wellington Mornings show. File photo / Marty Melville
Mitchell said when other people were trying to survive a violent domestic dispute, for example, there might not be officers available “because they’re sitting in the ED babysitting and looking after someone that should actually be getting some proper mental health support”.
“The system’s not working properly. It’s certainly not working properly for us as a country, it’s not working properly for the victims that actually need that support, need our police there when they put their hand up for help.”
According to a proactively released Cabinet paper, recent police data shows demand from people in lower-level mental distress is growing at a significantly faster rate than demand from those presenting with a high level of risk.
“Police is not equipped or funded to provide a response to those experiencing mental distress, where there is not a threat to life or safety,” said the paper, a report of the Cabinet Social Outcomes Committee.
Mental Health nurse Grant Brookes said health staff were getting hurt due to the police pull-back.
Brookes earlier said he was aware of incidents this month in the wider Wellington area where nurses, other frontline health staff, and other ED patients had been injured, “which occurred as a direct result of police refusing a section 41 request”, a request under the Mental Health Act made by an authorised clinician for police to assist on a mental health job.
“As Government policies are translated into practice ... at each stage of that process police become less and less responsive to mental health crises,” Brookes said.
“Police are dropping off unwell, agitated, and potentially violent people in EDs and leaving.
“One doctor I’ve spoken to . . . has said mental health clinicians are literally taking their lives in their hands in responding to mental health crises now.
“People experiencing mental distress are much more likely to harm themselves than other people, but if they are harming other people in a health context then it’s us that are injured.”
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.
