All police officers and staff in Ayrshire are to become "trauma informed".

The move is part of a commitment to improve the response to people in distress and maximise opportunities to positively impact on local people.

Only 20% of incidents that Ayrshire police division deal with are crime related, and an increasing amount relate to people in distress or crisis, or suffering from the impact of addiction, homelessness or trauma.

Making the announcement on Tuesday, Ayrshire's divisional commander, chief superintendent Paul Main, said the aim is to improve awareness among staff of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).

ACEs are stressful or traumatic events, including abuse and neglect, witnessing domestic violence or growing up with family members who abuse alcohol or drugs.

Each ACE increases a child's likelihood of being a victim of violence, committing violence or being incarcerated.

Chief superintendent Main said: "Becoming a trauma informed division will help officers and staff to have an increased understanding of those we engage with and allow us to look beyond people's behaviours and actions.

"This will also improve our response to people in distress and provide the opportunity to make positive and sustainable differences to communities throughout Ayrshire.

"This includes our response to people in crisis or distress, suffering from poor mental health and other medical conditions, as well as how we engage with people in the criminal justice system."