Moving from a police response to a health response to mental health crises is good in theory. But without anything to fill the gap, it’s irresponsible and dangerous, argues Mental Health Foundation head Shaun Robinson.

We rely on our police force to keep us safe from harm and danger. It’s a job they largely do well and one we’re grateful for. However, a decision about the sorts of callouts they’ll attend could put tens of thousands of New Zealanders at risk.  

Of all calls made to police, 11% are mental health-related – that’s one mental health callout every seven minutes. Calling 111 is often someone’s first port of call when they, or someone they love, is experiencing a mental health crisis. The other option is the local mental health crisis assessment team who, it has been well documented, are often strained and have limited capacity.   

The police provide a critical role in helping people access mental health support and ensuring their safety during what is often one of the toughest moments in a person’s life, and an incredibly stressful time for their loved ones.    

But from next week, the police will push ahead with the next stage of their planned transition away from this work. Running in parallel, police and health agencies have started to develop a five-year transition plan that began last year. Moving from a police response to a health response to mental health crisis is good in theory, but very little has been done to fill the gap on the ground. There is no alternative to the police yet in place and until there is, police withdrawal is irresponsible. 

I get it. It’s not the police’s core job to respond to most mental health callouts, especially where there is no risk to life or safety. They don’t have the specialist training required, and their presence, however well-intentioned, can frighten people in distress and escalate the trauma they face.  

We’ve been saying for years that the police are not the right people. But, for now, they’re the best we’ve got. 

The government can fix this – specifically, the minister of police, Mark Mitchell, and the minister for mental health, Matt Doocey.  

However, I don’t have confidence in whatever plan these ministers will claim to have. There’s no evidence of a detailed health plan or alternative mental health crisis service, and no funding commitment to support either one.  

Instead, there’s a broad and vague assumption that the mental health system will somehow plug the gaps that the planned police withdrawal will create. This is frankly ridiculous. Health is stretched beyond capacity. Staff vacancies are growing and emergency departments, which will see the next stage of reduced police support, are massively under the pump. The 70,000 New Zealanders and their families who currently call the police when they need support deserve a well-resourced, properly funded mental health response service. These are vulnerable people who deserve our compassion and care.  

Replacing police involvement to mental health responses will require a range of funded initiatives. For example, we want a crisis response that involves trained mental health professionals, peer support workers, paramedics, social workers and community-led teams: responders who have specialist training to de-escalate distress and reduce the risk of unnecessary force or restraint.  

We know this approach works. There have been successful trials under way both in Aotearoa and internationally. But it will take at least three to five years of solid investment and training to build this workforce and system nationally. Until it is fully built, it is dangerous and ill-considered for police to be stepping back.   

There’s been a similar move by police in the UK. But there the government invested an extra £1 billion a year to replace police officers, including funding specialist mental health ambulances and crisis cafes where people struggling to cope can drop in for help.  

Without a similar well-documented plan and hefty investment from our government, the risk is too great, the danger too monumental.  

Even talking about police withdrawing is causing confusion and danger. People are calling the police to be told they should call the mental health crisis team to be told they should call the police. Everyone – police, public, mental health services – needs iron-cast clarity before something goes seriously wrong.  

This planned police withdrawal has to stop in its tracks.  

At the Mental Health Foundation, we have launched a petition calling for the minister of police to stop the planned police withdrawal, until an alternative service is in its place. The petition also calls for the minister for mental health to publicly share a fully developed and costed health plan to support this transition, including how this transition will be funded in Budget 2025. Sounds reasonable, doesn’t it?  

Staying safe  

If you or someone you know has immediate safety concerns, please still dial 111, or contact your local mental health crisis assessment team. Helpline numbers are available at www.mentalhealth.org.nz/help