Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

examination is undertaken internally by the TPS Professional Standards unit. I address
the role of the Professional Standards unit in more detail in Chapter 8 (Supervision).
5. TPS initiatives relating to police and mental health
58. This Review is not the first time that the Toronto Police Service has sought to
look at whether there are ways in which it can improve itself in order to avoid lethal
outcomes resulting from encounters between police and people in crisis. The following
is a summary of selected TPS initiatives since 1996 to address issues of policing and
mental health. The summary is both encouraging and sobering—encouraging because it
shows the TPS’s commitment to addressing these difficult issues, and sobering because,
like many other police services, the TPS struggles to find a solution.
59. Mental Health Coordinator: In 1996, the TPS created the position of Mental
Health Coordinator. The Coordinator was responsible for addressing policing and
community issues relating to mental health, including educating front line officers on
legislative changes, representing the TPS to government and community agencies in
relation to mental health issues, identifying and correcting problems within the Service
relating to police and mental health, and developing and updating TPS policies,
procedures, and training.
60. The position of Mental Health Coordinator still exists today, and is discussed
further in Chapter 4 (The Mental Health System and the Toronto Police Service).
61. Use of Force Committee Final Report: In 1997, then Chief of Police David
Boothby established a Use of Force Committee to review all aspects of police use of force
to examine if there were ways to reduce the necessity for the application of deadly force
without compromising officer safety. The establishment of the Committee came after
the TPS had used lethal force four times within the first four months of that year.
62. The Use of Force Committee was not concerned exclusively with encounters with
people in crisis, but one of the key areas of focus was “Dealing with Emotionally
Disturbed Persons.” The Committee made three recommendations in this area: (1) the
establishment of a standing committee to identify, develop, and coordinate suitable
responses and resources to help the Service effectively intervene when dealing with the
emotionally disturbed; (2) the establishment of partnerships between the TPS and
mental health care agencies; and (3) the completion of a handbook dealing with officer
response to mental illness.
63. More generally, the Committee made recommendations dealing with rules and
directives, supervision, training, less lethal force options, the Emergency Task Force,
and the creation of a standing committee on use of force. 3
64. Crisis Resolution Course: One of the recommendations of the Use of Force
Committee Final Report was the introduction of a Crisis Resolution course delivered at
the Toronto Police College. This recommendation was implemented in 1999.
3
See Toronto Police Service Use of Force Committee, Use of Force Committee: Final Report (Toronto, ON: Toronto Police Service,
1998), online: Toronto Police Service .
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