Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

41. Clarification of the MCIT’s role as a possible first responder is required. A first
response by an MCIT unit is appropriate in certain circumstances, such as where an
MCIT unit has had previous contact with a specific individual. It may also be useful if
MCIT units are more consistently involved as a first response alongside the PRU
because this will allow dissemination of expert advice, and will facilitate the quickest
involvement of mental health nurses once security is assured. 23
42. Furthermore, the Review was advised that MCIT units are not permitted to
respond to crises involving drugs or alcohol. This is a significant limitation in light of the
fact that mental health and addiction issues are frequently interrelated.
43. As demonstrated by the Vancouver, Memphis, and Hamilton examples discussed
below, different forms of crisis response offer their own advantages and shortcomings.
While the MCIT program is excellent and should be retained, at the same time it should
not be assumed that the TPS is confined to using only the MCIT secondary response
model. The TPS can draw on the models used by other cities to create a program
complementary to the MCIT to respond to people in crisis.
B. Other models of Crisis Intervention Teams
44. In general, crisis intervention models fall into five categories, depending on the
degree to which mental health professionals are directly involved in the response, and
on whether the response unit is based in the police service or the mental health
system. 24 A brief survey of the spectrum of models is as follows:
(a)
(b)
Response by specialized police officers: This is the Memphis Model, in
which a significant proportion of a police service’s front line officers are
given specialized training in mental illness, de-escalation, and crisis
intervention techniques. The police service coordinates with the mental
health system to share information and make transfer of care efficient.
Mental health professionals become involved only once a person is
brought to a treatment facility. 25
Police response, in consultation with mental health professionals: Some
police services employ mental health professionals to provide on-site or
telephone consultations to officers in the field to aid in interacting with a
person in crisis. Montreal, for example, created the Urgence Psychosociale-
Justice program in 1996, which is an around-the-clock phone service that
enables police to call social workers who then come to
23
CRICH, MCIT Implementation, supra note 1 at 2.
24
Martha Williams Deane et al., “Emerging Partnerships Between Mental Health and Law Enforcement” (1999) 50:1 Psychiatric
Services 99.
25
Richard H. Lamb, Linda E. Weinberger & Walter Jr. DeCuir, “The Police and Mental Health” (2002) 53:10 Psychiatric Services
1266.
Police Encounters With People in Crisis |226