Right Care, Right Person policy having positive effect

Suffolk Constabulary’s new approach to ensure that vulnerable people get the right support from the right agency is having a positive effect with a reduction in the number of incidents officers are having to attend.

‘Right Care, Right Person’, introduced into the force on 1 October 2023, is a response approach to ensure that when there are concerns for a person’s welfare linked to mental health, medical or social care issues, the right person with the right skills, training and experience will respond at the earliest stage possible.

Since revising the Constabulary’s response to calls for service relating to concerns for welfare, there has been a reduction in calls for service, meaning an increased capacity for officers to focus on crime and anti-social behaviour and an improvement in response times to other policing demand.

Over the course of the first six months (Start of Oct – end of Mar) of RCRP the force saw:

2,500 fewer CADs* attended for concern for welfare incidents (a 45% decrease); equating to 411 fewer each month on average

7,500 CADs since implementation, a 23% decline in comparison to previous year (9,800)

23% fewer RCRP CADs being recorded overall

Crucially, this means that the calls we receive are more appropriate for a policing response and consequently, less need for a police attendance.

Meanwhile, the first month after the adoption of phase two of RCRP (situations when people walk out of health & care settings) saw 23 incidents assessed under the revised approach. Five incidents police attended and 18 were referred back to the caller. Due to the level of vulnerability attached to the five incidents police attended, these used an average of 6.6 police officers for a combined total of 5 hrs 26 minutes officers time which is a reasonable indicator of how much time was saved by not attending the other 18 incidents.

The background to the change is that in recent years there has been a significant rise in the number of calls for service police receive that are related to mental health. These have often led to the force deploying to situations where it has no legal duty to attend and, probably more importantly. where police officers and staff are not equipped with the skills, knowledge, or training to provide the best and most effective response to a member of the public at their time of need.

The care in many cases is now be provided by the agency that can best meet the individual’s needs. Police will continue to protect the public where the risks presented need a policing attendance.

Similar schemes have already been adopted by other forces including Humberside and North Yorkshire and Suffolk’s early adoption is part of a national roll-out of the scheme to all police forces in the country.

ACC Eamonn Bridger said: ”Keeping people safe in Suffolk is our priority and we are still committed to protecting the most vulnerable in our communities and, where there is an immediate risk to life or a risk of serious harm, we will still attend.

“These figures are very encouraging and demonstrate that the public and our partners are understanding what an appropriate call for police service is. We were keen to be early adopters of the scheme to ensure we reduced unnecessary demands on the frontline and allow our officers and staff the opportunity to focus on crime and anti-social behaviour.

“As a snapshot, the first month (October 2023) of phase one of RCRP, the Constabulary applied the revised RCRP approach to 940 incidents, which was 8.5% of all calls into the Constabulary for the month. Officers responded to 30% of these incidents.

“Our monitoring of RCRP will continue to understand any impact from the changes and a multi-agency group meet on a regular basis to discuss specific cases to identify learning. We have introduced the scheme over an extended period and through a phased approach to help with the adjustments needed by our partners. We are committed to working collectively on public sector solutions that see the best service possible to the communities of Suffolk whilst ensuring we effectively deliver the specific role that the public can expect of their police service”.

The force is also one of three police forces nationally that is receiving an enhanced evaluation by the Home Office in relation to RCRP and this will be received and assessed by the force later this year.

Richard Watson, Deputy Chief Executive, NHS Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care Board, said:

“We wish to thank Suffolk Constabulary for their considered rollout of Right Care, Right Person, and ensuring that people’s wellbeing and safety always remain a top priority.

“It is important we continue to learn from the scheme’s implementation, continue to monitor its progress and remain adaptable to change so that the needs of those in crisis are most appropriately met.”

PCC Tim Passmore said: "I am pleased to see this very positive feedback on the implementation of the Right Care Right Person initiative in Suffolk, following the initial launch in October.

 “It is absolutely vital that people suffering with mental ill-health are attended to by properly-qualified practitioners.  Police officers are not such practitioners, but they will of course still respond where there is a risk to life, or a crime is being committed.

 “We will continue to engage with partners about Right Care Right Person as we have done over the past two years.  This shared approach has proved very beneficial.”

Previous media release >Second phase of new policy to support vulnerable goes live | Suffolk Constabulary

*CAD – a call into the Contact and Control Room that is formally logged.