Intersections between policing and mental health at the neighbourhood level: Evidence from England

Abstract

Despite widespread assumptions, there is surprisingly little firm evidence on the extent of police activity among people who face, and in areas where people face, more mental health and well-being challenges in the United Kingdom. We conducted a secondary analysis of existing data from four different sources to examine the relationship between police stop-and-search practices and the prevalence of mental health issues across England. Our findings indicated an association between higher stop-and-search incidents and the prevalence of mental health issues outside London, persisting even when controlling for factors like ethnicity, age demographics, deprivation, crime rates and accessibility to local services. By contrast, within London, stop-and-search frequency correlated more with higher crime rates and ethnic diversity, whereas the prevalence of mental health issues and other socio-demographic factors showed no significant impact. This is the first national-level study to illustrate that area-level mental health, the percentage of Black individuals, and overall ethnic diversity directly influence the prevalence of stop-and-search incidents across the country.