We should push for non-police alternatives to mental health crisis response

In May 2023 the Metropolitan Police commissioner, Mark Rowley, wrote a letter to health and social care services announcing the Metropolitan Police’s withdrawal from 999 calls related to mental health incidents from 31 October this year. Rowley said that patients were being failed by the process of sending police officers instead of medical professionals to people in a mental health crisis1—and I couldn’t agree more.At present, police officers possess unique legal powers under the Mental Health Act. These enable them to transport someone in a state of mental health crisis to a place of safety for assessment by a mental health professional. Although this represents only one facet of police involvement in mental health services, it’s by far the greatest form of police presence that our patients experience.As a trainee psychiatrist I witness the impact on patients of being restrained by police officers, handcuffed, and brought to a psychiatric facility…
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