Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

20. As discussed in Chapter 5 (Police Culture), the culture of the Service with respect
to mental health has improved significantly in recent years. However, a variety of people
within the TPS have told the Review that a degree of stigmatization of mental illness
persists, and that some officers are hesitant to access psychological counselling because
it is believed that the need for counselling represents a sign of weakness.
21. In this regard, the Review learned that the mandatory nature of wellness visits for
the nine specified high-risk units is an important factor that enables TPS members
within these units to feel comfortable making use of counselling resources, especially in
their initial visits. Imposing a requirement to attend for counselling removes some of
the stigma, hesitation, and cultural resistance associated with psychologist visits. Once
officers are in the habit of seeing a psychologist, there appears to be an acceptance and
enthusiasm for the practice.
22. Notably, the majority of TPS members—including all front line officers who form
part of primary response units (PRUs)—do not benefit from mandatory wellness
meetings with the TPS psychologists. They must proactively request them.
23. Yet PRU officers clearly have stressful and potentially dangerous jobs, and are at
risk of a mental-health related operational stress injury. These officers have the most
frequent contact with people in crisis. Many of these officers are also among the most
inexperienced members of the Service—still in the formative years of their careers, and
susceptible to a variety of influences and stresses. The Review has also learned that the
most junior officers can be among the least likely to be prepared to show vulnerability or
to seek help.
24. There is a compelling body of opinion suggesting that such officers’ mental health
needs should be monitored and treated early, to ensure that mental health issues do not
grow into significant problems that can affect the individual officer and the Service as a
whole.
25. While the availability of resources to fund psychological wellness visits may be an
impediment to their implementation, the value of mandatory psychological visits in
helping PRU officers and in fostering the growth of a culture that emphasizes mental
health and wellness is clear. This is especially so for officers in their first years of service
at the TPS.
26. Another group of TPS members who would benefit from mandatory wellness
visits are supervisory officers, who cannot be expected to fulfill their role in a fully
effective way if they have mental health issues of their own that are not treated.
Psychological counselling is also educational: supervisory officers who participate in
counselling will be more conscious of the mental health issues that PRU officers
commonly face, and more aware of the signs and symptoms of these issues. These
officers will learn the language of mental health more fluently, having applied it to their
own experiences.
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