Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

(a)
(b)
(c)
Divisional Meetings: inviting members of the community of people
who have experienced mental health issues into Divisional meetings
to speak with officers;
Community Gathering Places: officers building collaborative
relationships with people who have experienced mental health
issues at drop-ins, clubhouses, and other gathering places; and
Leadership: the TPS Mental Health Coordinator and Divisional
Mental Health Liaison Officers facilitating the initiatives in
subsections (a) and (b), as well as other relationship-building and
de-stigmatizing programs.
CHAPTER 5: POLICE CULTURE
Statement of TPS commitments relating to people in crisis
RECOMMENDATION 5: The TPS prepare a formal statement setting out the
Service’s commitments relating to people in crisis and, more broadly, relating to
people experiencing mental health issues. The statement should be made public
and treated as of equal weight to the Service’s Core Values. Among the
commitments listed, the Service should consider including the following items:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
(g)
(h)
A commitment to preserving the lives of people in crisis if
reasonably possible, and the goal of zero deaths;
A commitment to take all reasonable steps to attempt to de-escalate
potentially violent encounters between police and people in crisis;
A commitment by the Service to continuous self-improvement and
innovation relating to issues of policing and mental health;
A commitment to eliminating stereotypes and providing education
regarding people with mental health issues;
A commitment to involving people with mental health issues
directly, where appropriate, in initiatives that affect them, such as
police training, and the development of relevant police procedures;
A commitment to working collaboratively with participants in the
mental health system (individuals, community organizations,
mental health organizations and hospitals);
A commitment to institutional leadership in the area of policing and
mental health, and to becoming a pre-eminent police service in this
field; and
A commitment to fostering a positive mental health culture within
the TPS.
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