Some municipalities in Manitoba are renewing calls for the province to make legislative changes to reduce the role police play in responding to crises as rural and northern communities deal with staffing challenges with law enforcement and an increase in mental health calls.
This comes more than a year after the NDP government committed to an extensive review of the Mental Health Act after families and advocates pressed for system changes. Winnipeg police have also voiced support for an approach that would see mental health groups take the lead on non-violent calls.
Right now, the legislation dictates that peace officers are the only people able to detain someone experiencing a mental health crisis and often the only ones able to transport individuals to a facility.
“The current model is unsustainable and is a grossly ineffective use of resources,” said Lisa Gaudet, deputy city manager in Dauphin, Man.
I agree with this. Police are for when force is required. We need major mental health support in this country at all stages, preventative, ongoing care and emergency help.
I’ve always thought that police should be paired with mental health professionals for these calls. But a seperate agency is an interesting idea.
I agree with the pairing. Some people get violent, erratic or otherwise disruptive while battling their illnesses. It wouldn’t be fair or ideal to have support workers be victimized by assault or other crimes. It also isn’t the right reaponse to just show up and shoot someone having an issue. Pairing them means force is available if needed, but theres also a more social form of help available if they are willing and able to cooperate.
For example some people with mental illnesses feel unsafe and try to arm themselves with a knife or something to protect themselves (from what varies from case to case). It would be unreasonable for a support worker to approach while they are armed. Having the police to help talk with them into putting the knife down and relocating to an area away from the knife or other hazards could provide a better opportunity for a support worker to approach. If it ends up escalating, the police are there to intervene before the support worker gets hurt, hopefully in a nonlethal manner.
I’m mostly cool with cops and mental health workers pairing up … as long as it’s NOT cops in charge of the situation.
Mental health workers are trained to de-escalate. Cops are not.