FOI 152145

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST REFERENCE NO: 152145

I write in connection with your request for information which was received on 9^th February 2022. Please find below the response to your request:

I have been researching the detention of people who are mentally ill or in crisis through Section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983. Many attempts have, over recent years, been made to reduce the number of people who are detained under this provision. In this context I wish to make a freedom of information request.

Forces have adopted many different interventions to try and prevent these detentions. I have set out below several of these. I would like to ask under the FOI, which of these - if any - are in operation in your force area. You may also operate more than one for example it may be different in rural and urban areas, or it may differ in different Health Authority areas. It may also be that you operate something else altogether, in which case could I ask what for a brief description of it.

The 3 commonest interventions include:

1. Highly trained police officers who respond to mental health incidents.
2. Joint 'triage' patrols of police officers and mental health professionals who respond to incidents.
3. A telephone 'triage' system where officers can ring a mental health professional when they are dealing with someone who is mentally ill to seek advice before they detain someone.

Reply:-

• We are in the process of training a number of staff in ‘MH First Aid’. At present we do not have a dedicated MH response as this is not the primary function of the police. We are working with West Midlands Ambulance Service whom have received funding to provide dedicated MH responders and transport.

2 & 3) We have trialled both of these responses to MH in different parts of the force area, in addition having a MH Nurse in our control room to provide advice at key deployment times.