THOUSANDS of calls were made to police last year for the concerns of safety of people in St Helens borough.

Figures from a freedom of information request have revealed there were 4,380 reports in St Helens in 2019 regarding the concerns of a person's safety, which includes incidents of collapse, injury, illness and someone being trapped.

That figure increased by 306 calls from 4,074 in 2018 (an eight per cent rise) but is still lower than the 4,444 reports that were made in 2017.

Across Merseyside there were 36,703 reports made to officers in 2019, an increase from 36,285 in 2018 and 36,420 in 2017.

Merseyside Police Superintendent Dawn McNally said: “The term ‘concern for safety’ in relation to a police incident can cover a wide range of situations, many of which often have a mental health component.

"Merseyside Police has a long history of working with partners in relation to mental health and policing and this is no exception in the St Helens area.

“We work closely with St Helens NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, St Helens and Knowsley Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as well as St Helens Local Authority to provide vulnerable people with the best care possible.

"Joint working is facilitated by a local Crisis Care Concordat group, and other meetings take place to prioritise areas of work and ensure a collaborative problem solving approach is adopted.

“We also work with North West Boroughs Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to deliver a mental health triage car which operates on afternoon shifts, seven days a week.

"The car is staffed by a police officer and a qualified mental health practitioner and can be requested to attend any policing incident with a mental health component, a large proportion of which would be categorised as a concern for safety.

"It allows us to work more efficiently and engage more openly with individuals in crisis, providing the assessment and care they need."

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Superintendent McNally added: “Like all emergency services, we face people of varying needs on a daily basis and together with our partners, we remain committed to caring for and supporting vulnerable members of our communities whenever they may need it."