Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and Mike King announce a $24 million boost for Gumboot Friday. Video / Mark Mitchell
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Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and Mike King announce a $24 million boost for Gumboot Friday. Video / Mark Mitchell
NOW PLAYING • $24 million boost for Gumboot Friday
Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters, Mental Health Minister Matt Doocey and Mike King announce a $24 million boost for Gumboot Friday. Video / Mark Mitchell
Katey Thom is an associate professor in law at the Auckland University of Technology; Sarah Gordon is an associate professor in psychology at the University of Otago.
OPINION
Jurisdictions around the world are struggling with the growing number of police call-outs to respond to people in mentalhealth distress. New Zealand is no exception.
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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. However, uncertainty remains about what this could look like in practice.
Our research shows a shift to a trauma-informed support system could be a game-changer. It has the potential to greatly reduce police involvement while improving support for individuals in distress.
The research involved academics from various universities across New Zealand collaborating with police and people who had experienced a police response while in mental distress.
We spoke with 28 individuals to listen to their experiences of interacting with the police. A specific focus was how police officers either helped or hindered them during times of mental distress.
To better understand the reality for police in this context, we joined them on 53 shifts and spoke to 73 police officers. We also analysed the content of 70 emergency 111 calls coded as related to mental health.
The synthesised findings help us to identify how change could – and should – be considered and applied in New Zealand.
We found police are immensely frustrated by the chronic underfunding of mental health services. One police officer described how this leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy: “I think as police, we’re go-getters. We like being out there, going to jobs and helping people. So, in some respects, we may do ourselves a disservice because we know that no one else is there to help them.”
However, our analysis of 111 calls suggests mental health or social service providers could lead most responses without the need for police.
This shift would require rethinking emergency responses to a mental health crisis and welfare checks police do regularly by stopping by a person’s home to make sure they are okay.
Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey has proposed creating an easily accessible national point of contact for mental health alongside fire or ambulance services when calling 111. Our research shows this is worth considering.
Alternative approaches must recognise trauma
Regardless of any proposals, those who shared their stories with us identified prior trauma as the cause of their mental distress. They emphasised the vital importance of police being equipped to recognise that.
One participant, Ana, provided a strong message about what this would mean for police.
“Remember that when you are talking to someone in distress, you are talking to all their trauma. The trauma of their parents, of their ancestors. In particular, Māori are still experiencing the impacts of colonisation and their inter-generational trauma. Shift from asking, ‘What is wrong with this person?’, to, ‘What has happened to this person?’ In doing that, you remove the judgment and allow this person to express their hurt.”
While police often felt they needed more specialist training, the research identified a basic humanistic response was most important to the people they serve.
When police officers tried to connect, understand, show respect and genuine concern, and explain how they were helping, people described feeling less distressed. Their relationship with the police improved.
Analysis of 111 calls suggests mental health or social service providers could lead most responses without the need for police. Photo / 123RF
Criminalising mental distress
But not all engagements with police were positive. All participants expressed concern over the criminalisation – the use of handcuffs, cells, cars and dogs – of unwell individuals who had not committed any crimes.
Kelly vividly remembers the embarrassment and cumulative distress when police approached her in public: “The police came and stormed this bus, or that’s how it felt from my position on the floor, curled up in a ball. They handcuffed me and dragged me off the bus. And this was on one of the busiest roads in the city.”
Experiences of criminalisation were intermingled with examples of biased, racist and discriminatory responses, including by police.
“Sometimes, they will hear the whānau name and pre-judge that person and family, rather than appreciate the why behind the offending.”
Some participants feared police engagements, including reporting crimes. This is concerning, as individuals who experience mental distress are especially vulnerable to victimisation.
Minister for Mental Health Matt Doocey has proposed creating an easily accessible national point of contact for mental health alongside fire or ambulance services when calling 111. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Change required inside and outside of police
When police use a trauma-informed approach that includes basic humanistic qualities, they can minimise experiences of criminalisation and reduce re-traumatisation.
Annie explained what this kind of policing meant to her: “The lady talked to me and asked me what had happened. We sat and talked. I felt as if I was a person. It wasn’t like I was a criminal or a non-person. They treated me like a person – not even a person who was unwell.”
Any alternative approaches will likely still involve the police, even if this entails minimal involvement to create safety. Police must be confident in using a trauma-informed approach that emphasises humanistic engagement across all frontline policing.
Where to get help:
• Lifeline: Call 0800 543 354 or text 4357 (HELP) (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: Call 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: Call 0800 376 633 or text 234
• What's Up: Call 0800 942 8787 (11am to 11pm) or webchat (11am to 10.30pm)
• 0800 Anxiety Helpline: 0800 269 4389 (0800 ANXIETY). This service is confidential and free of charge. Open 24/7.
• Depression helpline: Call 0800 111 757 or text 4202 (available 24/7)
• Helpline: Need to talk? Call or text 1737
• Aoake te Rā (Bereaved by Suicide Service): Call or text 1737
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
