Concerns raised over police acting as 'social workers'

Fri, 23 Oct 2015

Serious concerns have been raised about the fact that Island police officers are increasingly acting as "social workers".

One in five incidents dealt with over the last financial year had a mental health link - the Island's Chief Constable says that's despite officers being poorly equipped and trained to deal with the issue.

In his annual report, which went before Tynwald this week, he revealed that officers have had to enter mental health facilities to physically restrain people - something he's described as "wholly wrong".

Onchan MHK Peter Karran says that's alarming: