6 Dec 2018

Mental illness sufferers need experts, not cops - Cahill

From Morning Report, 6:43 am on 6 December 2018

The Police Association president Chris Cahill says people with mental health issues need expert support, not a police officer who can "at best put a band-aid over it''. Mr Cahill and the Police Minister Stuart Nash both want to see more mental health specialists working directly with police, rather than officers becoming the substitute. But the mental health and addiction inquiry released on Tuesday specifically calls for police to receive more mental health training. It comes at the same time police are dealing with roughly 104 mental health callouts a day - a number steadily increasing every year. RNZ political reporter Jo Moir spoke with Mr Cahill and she started by asking him whether police should receive more mental health training.