PCC thanks partners as ‘Right Care Right Person’ continues to deliver positive outcomes

Recent data is showing Suffolk Constabulary’s new approach to ensure that vulnerable people get the right support from the right agency is continuing to have a positive effect.

The figures demonstrate a reduction in the number of incidents officers are having to attend relating to concerns for welfare, meaning people are being directed to more appropriate support at an earlier stage and a continued increased capacity for officers to focus on crime and anti-social behaviour.

‘Right Care, Right Person’, introduced into the force on 1 October 2023, is a response approach to ensure that when there are concerns for a person’s welfare linked to mental health, medical or social care issues, the right person with the right skills, training and experience will respond at the earliest stage possible.

Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore said: “I am pleased to see this very positive feedback on the implementation of the Right Care Right Person initiative in Suffolk.

“The Right Care Right Person initiative does exactly what the name suggests, it ensures that people in need are supported in the right way by the appropriate mental health professional.

“It is absolutely vital that people suffering with mental ill-health are attended to by properly qualified practitioners. Police officers are not such practitioners, but they will of course still respond where there is a risk to life, or a crime is being committed.”

He added, “I’d like to take this opportunity to thank partners for their support, this shared approach has proved very beneficial.”

The care, in many cases, is now being provided by the agency that can best meet the individual’s needs. It’s important to say police will continue to protect the public where the risks presented need a policing attendance.

A phased approach to this initiative from police was taken to provide partners the opportunity to adjust to the working practices. Most recently, the latest phase has seen an agreement in the way patients are transported to mental health care facilities and which is now properly recognised as being the responsibility of partner agencies, rather than being the responsibility of the police.

From October 2023 to the end of September 2024 there had been 14,796 CADs* with a concern for welfare or mental health element to them. That is a 24% decline compared to the corresponding previous 12 months (October 2022 to September 2023) when there were 19,415 CADs.

Out of the 14,796 CADs recorded, Suffolk police attended 6,134 times, compared to attending 10,286 times during Oct 2022 to Sep 2023, so a 12% drop in police dealing with concern for welfare/mental health calls.

It means that the calls the force is receiving are more appropriate for a policing response and also allow police officers to focus on calls and incidents where police involvement is much more relevant and valid.

The background to the introduction of Right Care, Right Person is that in recent years there has been a significant rise in the number of calls for service police receive that are related to mental health. These have often led to the force deploying to situations where it has no legal duty to attend and, probably more importantly, where police officers and staff are not equipped with the skills, knowledge, or training to provide the best and most effective response to a member of the public at their time of need.

The force has seen declining use, year on year, of the Section 136 power under the Mental Health Act. For example, there has been a 39% decline in S136 Mental Health Act detentions since 2019/2020 (2019/2020 – 396 to 2023/2024 – 241).

The force uses a protocol, which includes all agencies involved, when a member of the public appears to be in mental distress and in need of immediate care or control. This is to ensure all agencies are aware of their responsibilities and the individual concerned is at the centre of all decision making. Good working relationships have been built with relevant partners to ensure swift handovers are completed and that the individual is with the correct agency as quickly as possible with the appropriate support in place to avoid them continuing to come to police attention.

ACC Eamonn Bridger said: “As we have always said, keeping people safe in Suffolk is our priority, we remain committed to protecting the most vulnerable in our communities and, where there is an immediate risk to life or a risk of serious harm, we will still attend.

“These figures are encouraging as they continue to demonstrate that the public and our partners are understanding what an appropriate call for police service is.

“When we introduced the policy, the aim was to ensure people were able to reach the right public service at the earliest stage and to reduce unnecessary demands on the frontline. This approach gives our officers increased capacity to deal with more relevant incidents that needed a policing presence such as crime and anti-social behaviour issues.

“The phased approach since October 2023 has also helped our partners with managing the change in processes that they needed to implement. It’s important to say we remain committed to delivering the best possible policing service to our local communities and securing the support of other public sector agencies and other partners where required.”

*Computer Aided Dispatch