Police having to support people with mental health problems - Louise Haigh responds

Louise Haigh MP, Labour’s Shadow Policing and Crime Minister, commenting on a report by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue finding that police forces are increasingly having to support those with mental health problems, said:

“The Government’s underfunding of mental health services is a national scandal and passing the buck to our overstretched police officers is exacerbating the crisis in policing.

“It is frankly shocking that the police are often the only people who someone experiencing a mental health crisis can turn to.

“Nearly a decade of brutal austerity has torn at the fabric of our society and the most vulnerable are being failed.”