Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

60. When Communications Services receives information regarding a person in
crisis, either from a 911 call or from an officer in the field, it notifies various personnel as
required by the individual situation. Relevant factors determining who Communications
Services must notify include: whether the person in crisis is armed, violent, or
threatening suicide; whether any shots have been fired; and whether there are
explosives or other hazardous materials involved, among other things. The Emergency
Task Force, discussed below, is notified of all calls involving a person in crisis, including
all incidents where a person is threatening suicide and all incidents involving a
barricaded person. 51
(c) Front line officers
61. The majority of calls involving a person in crisis (or “emotionally disturbed
person”) that the Service addresses every year are handled by front line officers. A call
involving a person in crisis is a Priority 1 call, meaning that Communications Services is
required to dispatch two armed officers to respond. 52
62. When responding to a call involving a suspected person in crisis, an officer must
conduct relevant background checks specified by the procedure to determine if the
person involved has a firearms license or any firearms registered to them, or any history
of violence or weapons use.
63. When encountering a suspected person in crisis, an officer determines whether
he or she needs to make an apprehension under the Mental Health Act or make an
arrest. The officers are instructed to consult with the MCIT, if a unit is available. 53
Similarly, if the officer determines that an arrest for an offence or an apprehension
under the Mental Health Act is not warranted, officers are directed to contact the MCIT,
where available. 54 If the MCIT is not available, and the suspected person in crisis is 16 or
older, the officer is directed to contact the Community Referral Police Access Line to
assess the options best-suited to addressing the needs of the person in crisis. If the
person in crisis is under 16 years of age, officers must determine if the child is in need of
protection under the Child and Family Services Act. 55
64. Where there are sufficient grounds to apprehend a suspected person in crisis
under section 17 of the Mental Health Act, described below, officers must: conduct
specified background checks, apprehend the individual, transport the person to one of
Toronto’s 16 designated psychiatric facilities, and upon arrival at the facility, bring any
medications currently prescribed to the person to the nursing supervisor, among other
things. 56 Similar steps are taken where officers are asked to apprehend a suspected
person in crisis on the basis of a form signed by a physician or justice of the peace. 57 In
51
Toronto Police Service, “Communications Services Directives regarding/involved EDP’s” [sic] (Toronto, ON: Toronto Police
Service, undated) at C.6.1.6.
52
TPS, “Procedure 06-04”, supra note 24.
53
Id. at 1, 5-6.
54
Id. at 6.
55
Id. at 6.
56
Id. at 6.
57
See MHA, supra note 2, ss. 15, 16.
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