Exclusive: officers aren’t allowed to call mental health experts for help if someone is armed – but what happens when someone having an episode doesn’t pose a threat?
She says as a psychologist she knew some situations required police but peer workers with lived experience and mental health professionals should lead the response.
But Guardian Australia has previously revealed the program aims to keep people out of emergency departments – meaning mental health workers are unlikely to be called if someone is in such an acute state of distress they require assessment in hospital.
Guardian Australia asked NSW police about the three alleged incidents and the women’s claims that mental health workers were not called to assist.
The NSW mental health minister, Rose Jackson, has promised to build on the findings of an internal police review to overhaul the system in 2024.
The NSW Greens justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, who has been pushing for an independent inquiry into police use of force, says the way officers respond to vulnerable people is “entirely inappropriate and essentially broken”.
In October, the families of vulnerable people fatally shot by NSW police united to call for a royal commission into the way officers use force when responding to mental health emergencies.
The original article contains 1,149 words, the summary contains 179 words. Saved 84%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
She says as a psychologist she knew some situations required police but peer workers with lived experience and mental health professionals should lead the response.
But Guardian Australia has previously revealed the program aims to keep people out of emergency departments – meaning mental health workers are unlikely to be called if someone is in such an acute state of distress they require assessment in hospital.
Guardian Australia asked NSW police about the three alleged incidents and the women’s claims that mental health workers were not called to assist.
The NSW mental health minister, Rose Jackson, has promised to build on the findings of an internal police review to overhaul the system in 2024.
The NSW Greens justice spokesperson, Sue Higginson, who has been pushing for an independent inquiry into police use of force, says the way officers respond to vulnerable people is “entirely inappropriate and essentially broken”.
In October, the families of vulnerable people fatally shot by NSW police united to call for a royal commission into the way officers use force when responding to mental health emergencies.
The original article contains 1,149 words, the summary contains 179 words. Saved 84%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!