By Gemma Fraser
Head of content
Police officers “cannot continue” responding to mental health incidents and must instead prioritise the prevention and detection of crime, the Chief Constable has warned.
In what was described as “damning testimony”, Jo Farrell said mental health “is not a justice issue”, apart from when there is a risk to life and the public.
She warned that the force is going to “have to do something very different” in order to move away from the status quo, where police are expected to deal with an increasing number of mental health calls.
Her warnings were echoed by opposition MSPs and the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which said the force “needs to be more selfish”.
The Scottish Government said mental health-related incidents recorded by Police Scotland have fallen, and measures are being taken to “drive forward more improvements”.
Around 80 per cent of police callouts now involve no criminality, with police time increasingly taken up by public safety concerns, wellbeing checks and mental health crises.
Figures revealed last month show officers are being called to almost 700 mental health related incidents every day.
Farrell fired her warning shot at the Scottish Police Authority’s board meeting.
She told members: “First and foremost, they are police officers and their primary responsibility [is] around prevention and detection of crime and bringing offenders to justice.
“We are going to have to do something very different in this space. I cannot continue to have a situation where we are spending more time in this arena than we are on our core roles and responsibilities.
“Today, I’m saying that publicly… having engaged at every level, having entered into collaborations and other agreements, now is the time for us as Police Scotland to do something different in this space, because we cannot continue to operate in this way, and our responsibilities lie elsewhere, and threat, risk and harm directs us into other areas.
“I come back to – it’s mental health and not a justice issue.”
“First and foremost, they are police officers and their primary responsibility [is] around prevention and detection of crime and bringing offenders to justice”
Chief Constable Jo Farrell
It has been one year since the publication of the Scottish Government’s framework for collaboration, which set out principles for a multi-agency approach to supporting people experiencing distress or crisis.
David Threadgold, chair of the SPF, said the police’s commitment to the framework has “never been matched by the health partners”.
He told 1919: “Police Scotland is at the point – and it was acknowledged publicly by the chief – where we are going to have to do something different.
“We have to become more selfish as an organisation.
“So much of our focus and our ability to play our part in the public sector in Scotland has been lost, because we’ve been picking up the health function.
“That has to change now. The Chief Constable has said it’s going to change, the authority has acknowledged that the model we have had is not working and is not sustainable for the future, and I very much look forward to working with them all to develop what that different approach looks like.”
The Scottish Liberal Democrats are calling for the rollout of mental heath specialists to work alongside officers to allow them to “focus on crime prevention and detection”.
The party’s justice spokesperson Liam McArthur said: “The police are doing their best in amongst a patchwork of underfunded mental health services.
“It is not sustainable to expect them to catch everyone who falls through the cracks of other services.”
Scottish Labour’s justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill said Scotland’s mental health services “are in crisis”.
“Almost one in five police incidents now relates to mental health distress, with officers routinely tied up for hours on cases they are not trained to handle,” she added.
“Despite the dedication of frontline police, this means fewer officers on our streets and thousands of vulnerable people denied the professional mental health support they urgently need.
“The truth is that mental health services have been hollowed out by incompetent SNP ministers, and police officers are having to pick up the pieces.
“Increasingly, hardworking officers are overstretched, overwhelmed, and expected to act as the emergency service of last resort.”
Liam Kerr, justice spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives, described the Chief Constable’s comments as “damning testimony”.
He added: “Police are often the first on the scene and the last to leave, but that doesn’t mean their goodwill should be exploited.
“Those experiencing a mental health crisis should ideally get support from those with medical training, not police officers, who should be dealing with criminal behaviour.
“SNP ministers must listen to the experts and ease the pressure on our frontline officers.”
Justice Secretary Angela Constance said: “I recognise the impact of mental health-related incidents on policing and I am grateful to officers for all they do to help those in distress.
“Statistics show that mental health-related incidents recorded by Police Scotland reduced between 2023/24 and 2024/25.
“We are working in partnership with Police Scotland, the Scottish Police Authority, health boards and local authorities to drive forward more improvements, and as noted by Police Scotland at the Criminal Justice Committee on 18 February, these actions are making a difference.
“Police Scotland’s use of the ‘enhanced mental health pathway’, directing emergency calls from people in distress to the 24/7 NHS 24 mental health hub, avoids the need for officers to attend mental health incidents and has freed up 76,000 hours of officer time since 2020.
“This is additional to initiatives such as the ‘distress brief intervention’, which reduces unnecessary callouts and facilitates quick access to compassionate and effective support.
“We are investing an additional £3.5 million in improving our 24/7 response to mental health emergencies and have recently announced the expansion of NHS 24’s mental health hub support to include psychological therapies.”