Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

officers serving as first responders to calls involving people in crisis. 2 There are
important functional differences between the Memphis Model and the MCIT, including
most notably the fact that the Memphis Model is a first response model that does not
include a mental health professional directly within the crisis intervention team.
2. The MCIT model
7. Toronto’s MCIT model pairs a specially trained, uniformed police officer with a
mental health nurse from a partner hospital to provide a mobile response to people in
crisis. Funding for the officer is provided by the TPS and funding for the nurse is
provided by the applicable Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) that oversees
financing for the partner hospital. 3
8. The framework for MCIT operations is set out in a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) that the TPS establishes with each of its six MCIT partner
hospitals. These MOUs establish the basic operating principles of an officer-nurse
pairing. Referrals for MCIT services must come from TPS Communications Services (as
a result of 911 calls or other calls for service) or directly from other officers in the field.
MCIT nurses are responsible for triaging priority of calls when multiple calls occur
simultaneously.
9. The aims of Toronto’s MCIT program are to:
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
provide prompt assessment and support to people in crisis;
link people in crisis to appropriate community service if follow-up
treatment is recommended;
avert the escalation of a situation and potential injury to both police and
people in crisis;
reduce pressure on the justice system by, for example, diverting people in
crisis toward treatment and minimizing officers’ time handling psychiatric
emergencies;
reduce pressure on the healthcare system by, for example, decreasing
unnecessary emergency room visits; and
(f) ensure the accountability of the program. 4
10. In attending a call involving a person in crisis, the MCIT helps determine the
appropriate course of action, which might include providing a mental health
assessment, giving information, arranging community support or a community
treatment referral, conducting follow-up calls with hospital clients to reduce repeat calls
2
City of Toronto Mobile Crisis Team Coordination Steering Committee, MCIT Program Coordination in the City of Toronto
(Toronto: Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network, 2013) at 8 [Steering Committee, Coordination].
3
Id. at 11.
4
CRICH, MCIT Implementation, supra note 1 at 2.
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