Bruce Bowden

NSW police union says police should stop attending mental health incidents because coroners keep saying they do a really shit job.

I agree. Stop sending police to these incidents. And cut the police budget by 10% to fund a mental health first responders service.

Maybe people whose idea of “helping” is “shoot first, ask questions later” aren’t the people you want in a mental health emergency.

Sep 10, 2023 at 9:54pmWeb
Show threadEvelynSep 11, 2023
@bruce @aby If it’s coroners who are saying you’re shit at your job; then you’re probably really shit at your job.
Show threadGregSep 11, 2023
@bruce Please. That’d be amazing.
Show threadAutisticMumTo3Sep 12, 2023
@bruce
Even where most police don't carry guns they simply aren't trained to help and so can make things worse by treating them like criminals. We need a mental health paramedic service.
Show threadFrances LarinaSep 12, 2023

@bruce

A local city called Rohnert Park now has a specialized team that responds to mental health calls. I happened to watch them in action earlier this year while I waiting somewhere and they were amazing. Cops would have done everything pretty much the opposite and no doubt escalated the situation until they could understand it. And by that, I mean escalate it into physical violence.

Show threadBruce BowdenSep 12, 2023
@Frances_Larina Wow. Lovely to hear that somewhere is doing this and it’s working. Maybe local government is the place to start. State and federal governments get bogged down in bureaucracy too quickly.