Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

designed to build on the de-escalation training received as part of new constable
training and annual in-service training. 17
26. As noted earlier, the Toronto Police Service’s in-house psychologists have no
involvement with MCIT selection or training, or in monitoring the effectiveness of the
program or the TPS officers involved in it.
5. MCIT officers’ career progression
27. An officer’s service in the MCIT program is considered as equivalent to time
spent as a generalist constable in terms of career progression within the Service. MCIT
officers are therefore eligible for further promotion.
28. Although there are no formal job impediments to MCIT officers’ promotions
within the Service, I have been left with the impression from several sources that the
MCIT is not a sought-after position for an ambitious officer mindful of career
progression. There may be informal obstacles in the Service’s culture that lead some to
view the MCIT as an ineffective path for advancement. Units that fall within the more
conventional image of policing, such as the Emergency Task Force, the Drug Squad, or
the Homicide Squad, may be favoured. This has the potential to undermine the
importance placed on softer skills that are necessary to community policing.
29. There appears to be insufficient awareness within TPS of the role that the MCIT
plays and the work that these units accomplish. 18 The Review was told of examples of
existing TPS officers who are unfamiliar with the MCIT and its role. This lack of
knowledge inhibits the effectiveness of the MCIT program, as other officers do not make
use of the MCIT’s expertise in all applicable circumstances. In practice, the MCIT is not
called to, or notified of, all calls involving a person in crisis. This was a key finding of the
MCIT Program Implementation Evaluation Final Report, which called on the TPS to
increase support for the units by raising awareness of the MCIT’s resources and
expertise among first responding officers. 19
30. It should be noted, however, that the Review heard many positive comments
from a wide variety of stakeholders about the role that the MCIT plays. I now turn to
that discussion in greater detail.
6. Advantages of the MCIT model
31. The MCIT has three chief advantages. First, the pairing of an officer with a
mental health nurse bridges the information gap between the police and the mental
health systems, allowing the pair to access both police and health records to inform their
response to the call. This enhanced access to information enables the team to provide a
more fully informed response that can be tailored to the person in crisis.
17
Toronto Police College Community Policing, Course Training Standard, “Mobile Crisis Intervention Team Level 1” (Toronto:
Toronto Police Service, 2013).
18
CRICH, MCIT Implementation, supra note 1 at 21-22.
19
Id. at vi, 21-22.
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