Police experiment cuts arrests by 90 per cent

POLICE in Warrington reduced the number of arrests made under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act by 90 per cent through using an experimental triage scheme involving a psychiatric nurse.
As a result, the scheme has now been rolled out across Cheshire.
The mental health triage scheme was originally piloted in Warrington and Halton.
It saw a community psychiatric nurse accompanying a police officer during call outs to offer advice and support, helping to reduce the number of arrests under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act.
The advantage of having the triage team at the call outs mean that people are able to get the right help from a mental health professional at the point of a crisis.
In its first 12 months, the triage team attended 795 incidents reducing Section 136 arrests by 90 per cent.
Police and Crime Commissioner John Dwyer (pictured) said: “Mental health issues affect one in six adults in Britain at any one time.
“This collaborative working between Cheshire Constabulary and our partners demonstrates that we take mental health seriously. The feedback that I’ve received is that officers really value having the support of the psychiatric nurse and specialist officer as it enables people to be dealt with in the most appropriate way.
“Another benefit of the scheme, has seen officer’s time being freed up, enabling them to deal with other incidents as they occur, confirming their commitment to be there for you when you need them.
“I am extremely pleased with the work that’s been done so far, and I’m confident that these successes will be mirrored across the county. I want to thank the officers and nurses involved in this pilot. Their hard work and dedication have contributed to the scheme’s achievements.”
To further demonstrate the success of the mental health triage scheme, it was named the overall winner for 2014/15 in the category on inter-agency and partnership working in the 5 Boroughs Partnership NHS Trust annual awards.