New officer training to better assist those in crisis

This new training was released on 19 December and forms part of the national toolkit. This toolkit was launched earlier in the year by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the College of Policing to support police forces in implementing Right Care Right Person when determining whether the police are the most appropriate agency to respond to health-related calls for service.  

The online training is accessible to police officers and staff via College Learn and includes a variety of scenario situations to help learners better understand the type of calls that fall within Right Care Right Person. It aims to help officers and staff identify situations where police have a legal duty to respond as well as identifying situations that are not in the remit of police, but they may still choose to respond, and where other agencies are better placed to respond to calls.  

This training is accompanied by the release of new guidance for force control rooms which aims to help forces embed Right Care Right Person into their operating practices as well as supporting effective decision-making about the deployment of resources.  

Tom Harding, Director of Public Safety and Risk at the College of Policing, said:

“So far we have seen success in Right Care Right Person in freeing up resources for police to fight crime and catch criminals, and reducing the police response to incidents where they are not the best placed service to be providing the care and support that vulnerable people suffering with mental health require.    

“As we roll out this training and guidance to all officers and staff in England and Wales to help them better understand and implement Right Care Right Person within their force control rooms, we hope to improve the balance of working with partner agencies nationally to make sure the public are receiving the best and most appropriate services for their needs whilst best allocating our resources to those who need a police response.   

“The police are not trained mental health professionals, and by teaching and encouraging staff and officers to better understand and assess the nature of an incident at the first point of contact within the control room, we can free up resources to make sure those who are most in need of our help are able to receive it.” 

Assistant Chief Constable Jenny Gilmer, National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Right Care Right Person, said:

“The launch of the operational guidance and e-learning package is another key milestone in the national implementation of Right Care Right Person, building on the toolkit and National Partnership Agreement (NPA).  

“Many police forces have taken positive steps towards implementation with some already bringing in different phases and others working with partner agencies to determine their local approach. Ultimately, this is about ensuring vulnerable individuals in our communities receive the specialist care they need and it is encouraging to see this at the centre of local delivery.  

“We continue to support police forces in implementing the Right Care Right Person approach through regular delivery group meetings and peer review and these additional training resources will further bolster local decision-making in partnership with health providers.”