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Local police officers are no longer routinely being sent to mental health incidents unless there is a risk to life or a crime is being committed, in an approach that mirrors one being rolled out across England and Wales.
These new protocols for mental health incidents will allow police to concentrate on fighting crime and give better outcomes for those involved, according to the island's Police Chief and Director of Mental Health.
Now, when concerns are raised by the public but risk assessments determine there is no need to send police officers, police controllers will directly contact the Mental Heath Crisis Team which was revamped last year.
Andy Weir, Director of Mental Health and Adult Social Care, hopes this system will allay fears expressed in the UK that vulnerable people may be ignored.
Pictured: Andy Weir, Director of Mental Health and Adult Social Care.
"The concern there is that if the police are not going to go, then is anyone going to go but that's not where we are," explained Mr Weir.
"The question is who is best placed to go. I want to stress that these are not people who are a risk to the public. There is a partnership with the police and essentially what we have done is to agree a way of responding."
Latest police figures reveal the impact of the new approach. So far in 2023 they have been called to 575 incidents involving mental health issues, compared by 806 at the same time last year, a decrease of 28.7%.
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— States Assembly - Jersey's elected parliament (@StatesAssembly) July 27, 2023
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Police Chief Robin Smith explained the approach that has been taken: "Dealing with people who are sick is not our key role – we want to catch criminals and respond to incidents quickly, etcetera.
"Also, as was described [at this week's Scrutiny hearing], probably the last person you want to see coming through your front door in these circumstances is a cop, nor do we want to have to arrest people because they are poorly unless there is a threat to life."
He added: "People in mental health crisis can present in different ways and in ways that may seem threatening, so we’ve tried to better understand that.
"What has seen this significant reduction in terms of calls is far better, effective collaboration between the police and our Mental Health colleagues, in particular Andy Weir in Health.
"We now have open and honest conversations – that’s exactly what gets progress. We use data, we try to understand, we recognise tensions and inadequacies in the system and then we try to work out what we need to do."
In addition to the fall in call-outs, there has been a similar reduction in the use of Article 36 of the Mental Health Law – the power that allows police to detain a person suffering a mental health crisis and take them to a place of safety.
Next month, a new secure suite will open at Orchard House's Clinique Pinel which will provide a safe environment for those held in such circumstances.
Pictured: The new secure suit will be a "place of safety" for islanders detained by the police due to mental health concerns.
At present, they are taken to the General Hospital's Accident and Emergency Department where there may be delays in their assessment, something which has a significant impact for the police, as Mr Smith explained:
"There are lots of examples where that could mean that police officers – and there will be two – could be there for hours and hours whilst waiting for that person to be assessed by a clinician.
"We have a duty of care over that person and we spend hundreds of hours waiting for an assessment – sometimes it’s anywhere between six and 12 hours.
"To see a reduction in these Article 36 detentions – and the police were using them too regularly – we’ve assessed the ones that we should do and this is part of the collaboration with our Mental Health colleagues."
While the change of approach follows the 'right care, right place' model first trialled by Humberside Police, the Police Chief is cautious about applying the label without being clear exactly what it involves.
"It’s got a label which has been discussed in police circles for well over a year and we are very familiar with what that means. Whilst I haven’t said we are adopting 'right care, right place', the principles of it are really sensible – that is better partnership arrangements and finding a better place for people who are in some form of crisis," he said.
Pictured: "Dealing with people who are sick is not our key role – we want to catch criminals and respond to incidents quickly," said Police Chief Robin Smith.
The change in approach – which involves the application of a risk assessment by controllers dealing with emergency calls from the public – coincides with a redesign of community Mental Health services that included a review of the Mental Health Crisis Team.
Since the end of November last year, it has been operational in what Mr Weir described as "its new 24/7 form with clear response targets". Over the eight months from December last year to July 2023, the crisis team responded to an average of 92 incidents per month.
Mr Weir added that, at the same time as developing the new crisis model, other changes to community mental health services – such as increased home treatment and more structured support for people in the community – also impacted on calls to the police.
Members of the public with concerns about incidents involving mental health which do not involve a threat or the commission of a criminal offence are being encouraged to phone the crisis team on 445290.
However, the Police Chief stressed that members of the public should always feel confident to dial 999 if they felt an emergency required it.
"The primary message is that if islanders feel the need and they are concerned and they decide they need to dial 999, they should dial 999, whether it’s a mental health incident or whatever, and let the police make that assessment," he said.
"If something’s going on, always feel confident to dial 999."
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