Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

and Effectiveness of Police Services”), enacted pursuant to the PSA. 4 As discussed in
Chapter 8 (Supervision), the Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services
(MCSCS) maintains a Policing Standards Manual (the Manual) that contains advisory
guidelines to assist police services and their boards with implementing the provisions of
the PSA and its regulations. 5 The Manual is published by the Solicitor General of
Ontario. For each topic covered, the Manual sets out a sample board policy and police
services guidelines regarding the purpose and implementation of the policy. Only those
sections of the Manual most relevant to the mandate of the Review are discussed here. 6
2. LE-013 Police Response to Persons who are Emotionally
Disturbed or have a Mental Illness or a Developmental
Disability 7
6. The sample board policy on responding to people who are emotionally disturbed
or have a mental illness addresses three areas:
(a)
(b)
(c)
police should work with community members, agencies, health care
providers, and government agencies to address service issues relating to
people who have a mental illness;
the Chief of Police shall establish procedures that address the police
response to persons who are emotionally disturbed or have a mental
illness; and
the police service shall ensure that its skills development and learning plan
addresses training and sharing information with members about local
protocols, conflict resolution, and use of force in situations involving
persons who may be emotionally disturbed or may have a mental illness. 8
7. The police service guidelines that accompany the sample policy suggest that local
procedures should require communications operators (that is, 911 call-takers and
dispatchers) to provide officers with any known information about the person’s medical
and medication history, any history of violence, any involvement with community
agencies or local health care providers, and any previous contacts between the police
and the person. The guidelines further suggest that local policies address steps for
officers and communications personnel to obtain assistance from another agency, either
by referral or in a collaborative manner. Training should cover the relevant provisions of
the Mental Health Act, 9 the Substitute Decisions Act, 10 the Health Care Consent Act, 11
4
Adequacy and Effectiveness of Police Services, O. Reg 3/99, s.3 [Adequacy and Effectiveness]; See generally Reg. 926, supra note
1, ss. 3-35.
5
Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Policing Standards Manual (2000) [MCSCS, Policing
Standards].
6
Chapters 12 (Equipment) and 7 (Training) discuss Provincial Policing Standards guidelines regarding the equipment, and
training in officer safety, communication, and physical control techniques, that must be provided to officers.
7
Enacted pursuant to Adequacy and Effectiveness, supra note 4, ss. 13(1), 29.
8
MCSCS, Policing Standards, supra note 5.
9
Mental Health Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. M.7.
10
Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 30.
Police Encounters With People in Crisis |195