7 June 2023

Chair's Blog: Police officers are not mental health experts or social workers, and we should not be asked to be that

“Police officers are not mental health experts or social workers, and we should not be asked to be that.”

That was the reaction of Dorset Police Federation Chair James Dimmack to the news that the Metropolitan Police is to stop attending mental health calls from September, unless there’s a threat to life. The Met has also said that its officers will no longer respond to ‘low-risk’ missing person reports, allowing more appropriate agencies to deal with them.

Dorset Police is facing similar challenges, James said. He said: “Policing is at the front end of all of society's challenges. We are inevitably called to manage situations born out of any number of issues.

“The root causes of these issues are commonly linked with society-based and health-related conditions. For too long, policing has taken up the slack for partner agencies who, like us, have struggled to maintain pace with ever increasing-demand on services.

“Given this demand, policing needs to be strong in its mandate to deliver services relating to our core function. Police officers are not mental health experts or social workers, and we should not be asked to be that.

“But of course there is a crossover, where the police can safeguard vulnerable individuals and signpost them towards appropriate agencies to best deal with the issues at hand.”

Dorset Police is currently undertaking a large-scale review of how it operates, in order to identify the capacity it has and where its resources are best directed.

James continued: “We have acquiesced for too long – after all, we have been trying to do the best for the people of Dorset. However, this is not sustainable and it is in danger of diluting the essential services we must provide.

“You would not ask your electrician to build you a wall. They may be capable of doing a half-reasonable job, however it is not their area of expertise so they may well be fallible. Policing is no different.”