Police stretching to deal with mental health related incidents

GMP stretching to deal with mental health related incidents

Greater Manchester Police is spending a great deal of time dealing with incidents triggered by a mental health issues, it has been revealed.

Figures obtained by Rochdale Online News reveal that over 19,000 mental health related crimes were recorded in 2014, following on from just under 20,000 in 2013.

There has been a more or less steady flow of incidents in the past four years, averaging at 19,000 a year.

Nationwide, police forces are spending as much as 40% of their time on incidents connected with mentally ill patients or people with a mental health issue, which was flagged up as a potential hazard in the face of cuts with social and health services.

The Guardian newspaper reported that nationally, the number of incidents recorded in police logs as being related to mental health rose by a third between 2011 and 2014.

Paul Farmer, the chief executive of the charity Mind, told the national paper: “Cuts to mental health and other local services in recent years have heaped pressure on all parts of the system, leaving many without the right help at the right time.

“We often hear that the police have been fantastic in their support of people who have been in crisis. However, we also hear of people ending up in police cells when they are unwell as there are no alternative places to take them.

“Those involved in the planning and commissioning of NHS mental health services must make sure that adequate hospital beds and other alternatives are provided so that no one who is unwell ends up being treated like a criminal.”

Year and number of mental health related police incidents within Greater Manchester Police:

• 2011 - 19,663
• 2012 - 18,757 
• 2013 - 19,908
• 2014 - 19,002

The data has been produced over the dates 01/01/2011 - 31/12/2014 using the closing incident code of ‘G17-Mental health’.