NYPD didn’t make a single call to hotline for dealing with the mentally ill: report

Not a single NYPD officer called a special hotline aimed at helping cops determine whether an apparently mentally ill person needs to be transferred to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

Data recorded by the city’s Health & Hospital’s 24/7 crisis line since January shows not a single call was registered according to a report in Politico published Monday.

“We received zero calls to the hotline,” a H&H representative confirmed. 

Adams launched the support system part of a public safety-geared mental health strategy back in November designed to cut down on the Big Apple’s homelessness crisis.

The plan dramatically expanded the city’s ability to involuntarily commit individuals who appear mentally distraught, even if they don’t pose a danger to themselves or others.

Since then, police officers, social workers and mental health treatment teams have been trained under the directive.

To date, H&H has yet to respond to requests for 2023 staffing costs associated with the hotline.

A police source, who requested anonymity, told The Post that the hotline doesn’t work for cops on the job who need to act fast.

“It’s time-consuming, faster just to call a bus [or ambulance],” said the source, rather than having officers dial a hotline in order to correctly diagnose if a person needs psychiatric attention.”

“Cops don’t have time to stand there with the emotionally distressed person,” the source added. 

But the program got off to a rough start, as just 42 mentally unstable people were sent for evaluations without consent during December 2022 – the first month the program was up and running. 

City Hall did not respond to an immediate request for updated figures.