23983 (2024). Hon Ginny Andersen to the Minister of Police

23983 (2024). Hon Ginny Andersen to the Minister of Police: Do the co-response team provide better outcomes, if so, what are they?

Hon Mark Mitchell: Yes. The University of Otago undertook an evaluation of the implementation and effectiveness of the mental health co-response team (CRT) piloted in Wellington. The evaluation suggested that the CRT is effective and improved outcomes for people, whānau and agencies. Overall, the evaluation found that the CRT improved pathways for people experiencing distress and their whānau. It provided more timely and effective input than usual crisis mental health responses, decreased the risk of violence, reduced Emergency Department service utilisation and reduced time that Police spent on mental health-related callouts. This is also my response to Written Parliamentary Question 23985 (2024).