Committee
Criminal Justice Committee 18 February 2026 [Draft]
18 Feb 2026 · S6 · Criminal Justice Committee
Item of business
Policing and Mental Health
Dr Steel
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The committee is looking at how we have ended up in a position where the police are the first point of call. The police will tell you that they are filling a gap in provision. With regard to what the health service, or mental health services, and police can do on their own, the police increasingly have options—
In the same item of business
The Deputy Convener
Con
Welcome back. Our next agenda item is evidence taking from a series of witnesses on one of the committee’s priorities for the current session—namely, policin...
Stephen Gallagher (NHS Scotland)
I am grateful to have the opportunity to attend today’s meeting in my role as the director of mental health at the Scottish Government to respond to the comm...
The Deputy Convener
Con
Thank you. I am grateful to you and to all our witnesses for the submissions that they have sent in.I will open with a quick scene-setting question before we...
Stephen Gallagher
First, the framework for collaboration was published in February 2025, a month after the last committee meeting on the subject, and with that came the collab...
The Deputy Convener
Con
It certainly does, and I am grateful for that information, but I am not sure that it quite answers my question about when the police will be able to take a “...
Sharon Dowey
Con
Good morning. You mentioned the framework for collaboration, in which you say that you are promoting“a multi-agency collaborative approach to improving local...
Stephen Gallagher
I will start by talking about the community triage index that we launched in 2024, which is sometimes referred to as the mental health index. It is used by p...
Dr Robby Steel (NHS Scotland)
The number of times that the police are called by the general public to respond to an incident that fits the lay concept of a mental health emergency has not...
Sharon Dowey
Con
You have spoken about pilots and trials. Stephen Gallagher mentioned the approach in Lanarkshire, and Dr Steel said that there is a pilot in Lothian, but if ...
Stephen Gallagher
The 24/7 access point that has been created—
Sharon Dowey
Con
Sorry—did you say that it is being created? Is it not created yet?
Stephen Gallagher
It has been created, but the practice is not yet consistent across the country.
Sharon Dowey
Con
Why is that?
Stephen Gallagher
That will be for a variety of reasons relating to how different services are configured. Dr Steel has explained to the committee what is currently working an...
Pauline McNeill
Lab
Good morning, and thank you for your introductory remarks about all the work that you are doing. That was useful to hear.I want to continue with Sharon Dowey...
Stephen Gallagher
Again, I will defer to Dr Steel on that, but I guess that it would depend on the model; what comes out of the assessment and the dialogue about the severity ...
Pauline McNeill
Lab
Why does that matter? If it is an NHS issue regardless, when the police officer takes the person to the NHS facility where they can best be treated, why woul...
Dr Steel
A year ago, I was in front of the committee with a different hat on; I was here as a professional liaison psychiatrist—a psychiatrist who works in an emergen...
Pauline McNeill
Lab
Does that mean that no progress has been made in filling that gap? It seems to me that you are talking about something that is currently intangible.
Dr Steel
No, I am talking about the big picture. Let me bring it down to the small picture. At the moment, people contact the police when they are in distress. What w...
Pauline McNeill
Lab
But it is not a police issue.
Dr Steel
No, it is not—
Pauline McNeill
Lab
That is what I am struggling with. Do we agree that it is not a police issue?
Dr Steel
Yes. Oh—
Pauline McNeill
Lab
But you are saying that it is not an NHS issue, so—
Dr Steel
The NHS does not view it as an NHS issue, and that is where people fall down. At present, there is very good provision in some places. In Tayside, there is t...
Pauline McNeill
Lab
I do not feel that we are getting anywhere with what you are saying, to be honest. Our papers say:“The taskforce is also looking to build training to give po...
Dr Steel
The committee is looking at how we have ended up in a position where the police are the first point of call. The police will tell you that they are filling a...
Pauline McNeill
Lab
I do not really understand what you are saying, to be perfectly truthful.
Dr Steel
Okay. Things like—