Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

II. Overview of Issues Highlighted by Stakeholders
62. Many of the individuals and organizations—both within and outside the TPS—
who wrote to and met with the Review offered comments on the structure of supervision
within the TPS. Some submissions recommended enhanced emphasis on the role of TPS
procedures in guiding street-level decision making, suggesting that currently procedures
are used mostly to justify conduct after an incident. Others suggested that the current
police hierarchy is not conducive to upstream feedback on supervisors or training. The
importance of debriefing encounters with people in crisis was repeatedly noted, and
many stakeholders recognized the need to protect the debriefing process from disclosure
in criminal and civil litigation in order to promote truthful, constructive dialogue.
63. The Review received many submissions requesting that supervisors reinforce deescalation
and broader crisis training at the divisional level through debriefing,
recognitions for effective approaches to crisis situations, and regular discussions of the
different techniques for dealing with people in crisis. Stakeholders further suggested
that communication and de-escalation skills should be given more emphasis in
performance reviews and consideration for promotions. An innovative proposal was
made to implement one dedicated mental health supervisor in each division—a highly
trained individual who could champion mental health issues within the division,
facilitate debriefing, training and other discussions on responses to people in crisis, and
act as a resource for officers. Such a role could be incorporated into the mental health
liaison position that already exists at the divisional level, but is currently focused on
coordinating with external community agencies.
III.
Recommendations
64. I recommend that:
Coach officers and supervisors
RECOMMENDATION 24: The TPS further refine its selection and evaluation
process for coach officers and supervisory officers to ensure that the individuals
in these roles are best equipped to advise officers on appropriate responses to
people in crisis; in particular, that the TPS:
(a)
(b)
(c)
Consider requiring additional mental health training and/or
experience for candidates interested in coach officer and sergeant
positions, such as CIT training or MCIT experience;
Create an evaluation mechanism through which officers can provide
anonymous feedback on their coach officers or supervisors,
including feedback on their skills regarding people in crisis; and
Ensure performance evaluation processes for supervisors include
evaluation of both their skills regarding mental health and crisis
response, as well as their monitoring of their subordinates’ mental
health and wellness;
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