> It would be someone who's actually trained to interact with the mentally ill and de-escalate situations.

This is great when it works. But sometimes, people having mental health crises just don't want to be de-escalated, you try all the techniques and it doesn't work. (Just like with other medical calls—sometimes you do all the appropriate interventions, but the patient keeps getting sicker anyway.) Physical force should be the last resort, but sometimes there is unfortunately no other choice. (Source: I am an EMT)

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tialaramex an hour ago | parent [-]

> Physical force should be the last resort, but sometimes there is unfortunately no other choice.

It makes no sense to have "first responders" who default to your "last resort".

"OK, so, we think there's a typo in one of the customer records so I've restored from this morning's backup"

"But that loses six hours of work! That's crazy, why did you do that?"

"Restoring from backup is our last resort"

"What else did you try?"

"Oh I never try anything else. I just restore from backup and that resolves it"

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Georgelemental an hour ago | parent [-]

Yes, that would make no sense, that's why it's not what I said.

It takes time for responders to arrive on scene. Even if police end up not usually not being needed, there can be value in calling for them ahead of time so that they are available in case they do end up being needed. On the other hand, their presence alone can cause issues even if they don't do anything. That's why it's a tough call

	▲	Symbiote 36 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		They don't need to arrive on the scene with sirens blasting, tyres smoking, guns in hand. Approach without blue lights, potentially park round the corner and wait until requested.