Surrey Police hopes a billion-pound mental health investment announced by Prime Minister David Cameron will reduce pressure on officers called to help people suffering mental health crises, write Ellie Cambridge and Rachel Dickerson.

Mr Cameron said £1bn will be put into mental health services across the UK, along with £400m allocated to 24/7 crisis resolution and home treatment teams to keep patients out of hospital.

Campaigners nationwide have condemned the locking up at police stations of people detained under the Mental Health Act – and Surrey Police said the proportion of such detainees kept in their cells has dropped from 19 per cent to 4 per cent in the last year.

Surrey police and crime commissioner Kevin Hurley said: “In 2014-15, Surrey Police received an average of 18 calls a day from mental health services in the county.

“While officers were only sent to just over half of these calls, it means that these police officers cannot be out on our streets tackling the bad people who blight our lives.”

David Munro, a police and crime commissioner candidate in May’s election, said the cash “will also allow the police to get on with the job of fighting crime and allow more individuals to be detained in hospitals rather than in police cells”.

Surrey officers were called out to health sites more than 3,700 times between June 1, 2014, and May 31, 2015.

A force spokesman said: “Police officers and staff are not specialists in dealing with mental health issues and should not be the primary agency for responding to people suffering with mental illness.

“Individuals detained under the Mental Health Act have ended up in custody because there is was simply no alternative available.”

Esher and Walton MP Dominic Raab said of the investment: “This is good news, an important recognition of the very significant needs we have in this area.”

Paul Farmer, chief executive of Mind, said: “This is a significant moment for mental health and we are pleased to see the Prime Minister giving it the attention it deserves.”

The charity added that people who work and volunteer in the emergency services are more likely to experience a mental health problem.

Surrey County Councillor Kay Hammond, cabinet associate for community safety, said: “There are full-time employees at the police control centre dealing with mental health issues when they come in as well so they can get the appropriate help rather than calling the police.”

Investment for crisis resolution and home treatment teams could aid a force found “inadequate” in December last year by HMIC for its safeguarding of vulnerable people and investigations of crimes committed against them.

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