Met police policy on mental health calls may be putting lives at risk, say charities

Force says Right Care Right Person scheme has saved 34,000 officer hours but concerns lead to calls for it to be paused

The Metropolitan police have said their refusal to routinely go to mental health calls means officers can spend more time at crime scenes, but charities say the policy could endanger lives.

Six months ago the Met introduced a scheme called Right Care Right Person, aiming to cut the time officers spent dealing with mental health calls, which it said was diverting the force from fighting crime.