The state's police union has welcomed news that a program stationing mental health clinicians in some police districts and commands is being expanded, with the association's Hunter representative saying he expects an announcement this month about how the initiative will be rolled-out in regional areas.
NSW Mental Health Minister Bronnie Taylor and Police Minister David Elliott announced this week that the Police Ambulance and Clinical Early Response (PACER) pilot program would be expanded, with 36 mental health clinicians being provided across 10 police districts and commands from July.
Police in Sydney will have access to the clinicians as part of the roll-out, after a trial in the St George Police Area Command.
Police Association of NSW Hunter executive member Ian Allwood said the union was confident the program would be gradually rolled-out in regional areas.
"We are expecting announcements during June on when this will happen, including an expansion of the program to the Central Coast," he said.
Mr Allwood said feedback from the St George trial had been "extremely positive".
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"It's well known that the pressures of front-line policing are frequently impacted on by many different kinds of often complex and difficult mental health emergencies," he said.
"Improving the access to mental health experts so that [they] can be readily called on to support our members has huge benefits for the way that those emergencies are responded to."
Labor this week criticised the government for expanding the program only across Sydney.
The party's shadow mental health spokesperson Tara Moriarty called on the government to guarantee the program would be rolled-out to regional areas, yesterday saying the initiative should be extended beyond the year for which it is so far funded.
"This is a crucial initiative in the wake of drought, bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic," she said.
Labor's police spokesperson Lynda Voltz said having mental health clinicians on the ground would be good for police and the communities in which they worked.
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