The research project used a co-production methodology, where the research team collaborated with both
the police and whānau/citizens1 who have experienced mental distress. The research was conducted in three parts.
1. The team co-created narratives with 28 whānau/citizens to understand how police respond to mental distress.
2. To better understand the police experience, we conducted case studies across three police districts, observing police practices through 53 ride-alongs and interviewing 53 frontline
police officers. We also analysed 70 calls to the Police Emergency Communication Centre and interviewed 23 senior police officers with leadership experience in mental health liaison, prevention management, and partnering with Māori communities.
3. The third part of the research involved combining the experiences of both police officers and whānau/citizens to create a comprehensive synthesis of police responses to mental health-related events.

This report presents the narratives of some participants

The narratives of the participants who consented are presented as a separate output of the work so that their voices can be ‘heard’—detached from the subsequent analysis, synthesis, and discussion of the
material found in other outputs associated with the work. The stories deserve to be read independently and as a collective of lived experiences of interactions with police.. (From the Executive summary and Foreword). Learn more about the project on the website and in The Conversation article - follow the links. Record #8796