Jurisdictions around the world are struggling with the growing number of police callouts to respond to people in mental health distress. New Zealand is no exception. In the past five years, police callouts to mental health incidents have increased by 64% to 77,043. Despite additional funding for 500 frontline officers in the latest budget, the situation is unlikely to get better. Calls are growing for a different approach that provides a health-led response to all mental health events.
