Southwark police will continue responding to mental health crises – even after the Met Police commissioner said officers would “withdraw from health-related calls”.
In an interview with this paper, Local Neighbourhood Superintendent Shah said officers would “absolutely” respond to mental health-related calls and officers had a “duty of care” to people suffering mental health crises.
This may come as a surprise to some after it was widely reported that Met Police Commissioner Mark Rowley would order officers to stop responding to mental health call-outs.
In a letter to the Met’s health and social care partners, Sir Mark Rowley had written: “I have asked my team that the Met introduce RCRP this summer and withdraw from health-related calls by no later than August 31.”
He added that patients were being “failed”: “We are failing them first by sending police officers, not medical professionals, to those in mental health crisis, and expecting them to do their best in circumstances where they are not the right people to be dealing with the patient.”
A Met Police spokesperson later said officers would attend where that was a threat to life.
But DSI Shah has now suggested that “headline-grabbing” has missed the nuance of the Met’s approach.
Asked whether Southwark police would respond to mental health calls, he said: “We have a duty of care to people whether they’re having a mental health crisis, they’re a victim of a crime, or a suspect… you’re gonna get that level of care you need as somebody suffering from a mental health crisis.”
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It is understood that Mark Rowley is trying to affect a sea change in opinion rather than impose a blanket ban on responding to mental health incidents.
According to the General London Assembly, between 2019 and 2021, police responded to increased mental health callouts each year – up to 27,171 in 2021.
Roughly one in five adults in Southwark have a mental disorder, equating to approximately 47,000 individuals, according to Southwark Council.
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