Chief Constable says police spending more time dealing with people who have mental health issues

Sir Peter Fahy

Police are spending more time dealing with people who have mental health issues, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police has said.

Sir Peter Fahy said it had become the main issue for officers responding to emergency calls, and the force was struggling to cope.

Incidents officers are called to include dealing with people being actively suicidal or self-harming.

Statistics show these incidents can tie officers up for up to eight hours.

Other incidents police are called to deal with include people acting bizarrely in a public place or to those telephoning the police with paranoid ideas.

The Police Commissioner for Greater Manchester, Tony Lloyd, is to to set aside £200,000 of his budget to buy extra support from health professionals.