The number of mental health calls that Gloucestershire police respond to will be decreased.
The force will participate in a national program that requires officers to respond to mental health calls only when there is a danger to life or serious harm.
It is the first to use the system put in place by the Met Police.
Concerns about the new strategy being risky for the most vulnerable have been expressed by mental health charities.
Chris Nelson, the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Gloucestershire, claims that officers' time should be "focused on combating serious and organized crime" rather than being taken up with mental health calls.
The timetable for the policy's implementation, according to the force, is not fixed.
According to a former inspector of constabulary, the Met Police's decision to stop responding to urgent mental health incidents is "potentially alarming.".
Met officers will only respond to 999 calls for mental health starting in September if there is an "immediate threat to life.".
The national initiative, "Right Care, Right Person," was inspired by a program Humberside Constabulary introduced in 2020.
Since implementing the changes, the force has seen the highest national rates of arrests and crime detection.
The Metropolitan Police in London will introduce its program in September.
According to the plan, police are no longer required to respond to calls for assistance with welfare checks, the search for missing people who have mental health issues, or the transportation of mental health patients to and from hospitals unless there is a threat to life or serious harm.
According to Mr. Nelson, there would not be a "dramatic cut off" of what Gloucestershire police currently do and they would likely go above and beyond the minimum standards.
Nevertheless, he stated that other partners, such as those in social care, mental health teams, and the NHS, would need to "do more" as a result of this decision. .
According to him, "We frequently serve as the last line of defense when other services have been forced to delegate tasks to the police as a result of budget cuts.".
76 percent of all calls to Gloucestershire Constabulary in 2019 were not related to crimes, according to a report, and included inquiries about missing persons, car accidents, and mental health incidents.
According to the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), there has been an increase in the complexity of calls to police departments in England about "significant mental health crises and vulnerabilities," which has a "significant impact" on the resources that are available.
However, both national and local charities have voiced reservations about the new strategy, claiming there is not enough room for other organizations to step in and replace the police.
It's crucial for police to collaborate with other services to determine who will "fill the gap," according to Andy Goddard, director of Cheltenham Samaritans.
He said, "I worry that there won't be people to support them.".
"There are people out there who are in crisis and have mental health issues, and calling the police is their last resort. ".
Before the program's rollout, Mr. Nelson claimed that the force had already begun collaborating with regional health organizations.
According to South Western Ambulance Trust, it is "working closely" with the police to help patients who require mental health support.
The organization that manages the county's NHS, the Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, claimed to have a "long-standing and strong collaborative relationship with Gloucestershire Police" and to be collaborating with the force on the program.
The police said in a statement that for public service to change, effective partnership working "must forge some collective challenge, as well as support.".
To accomplish this, we will follow the advice of the National Police Chiefs Council and work with our partners and regulators, like the Integrated Care Board and Care Quality Commission, to drive this change.
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