That’s according to the county’s commissioner, Lisa Townsend, who says two officers recently spent a full week with a single vulnerable person.
She says the number of hours police in Surrey are spending with people in crisis has almost trebled in the last 7 years.
Lisa Townsend says Surrey will soon follow a new initiative called Right Care, Right Person, which began in Humberside.
The process involves social care staff triaging incoming 999 control room calls with them dealing with non police maters.
The model has saved officers in Humberside more than 1,100 hours per month.