Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

65. The objective of the course was to provide training to ensure that a police officer’s
goal, when faced with any potentially violent confrontation, is to control and de-escalate
that situation using tactical communications, crisis resolution, basic officer safety
tactics, and the minimum force required. A further objective was to reinforce the
principle that disengagement is always an option, in order to secure police and public
safety, containment and the utilization of other resources.
66. In an attempt to affect not only the skills and abilities of the officers, but also
their attitude, a philosophy statement was developed for the course that was used in
debriefings. The philosophy statement was: “A police officer’s success in any situation
will be measured by the degree to which the situation is safely de-escalated.” 4
67. The Crisis Resolution course has been modified over time. About 1,800 officers
received the intensive 50-hour course before the decision was made (for logistical and
financial reasons) to integrate the course with other in-service training courses that are
taught at the time of annual firearm requalification at the Toronto Police College. 5 As
discussed in more detail in Chapter 7 (Training), all TPS officers now receive crisis
resolution training every year as part of their annual in-service training.
68. Saving Lives Conference: In June 2000, the Urban Alliance on Race Relations
and the Queen Street Patients’ Council held a conference titled “Saving Lives:
Alternatives to the Use of Lethal Force by Police.”
69. The Conference Mission Statement, which was signed by then Chief of Police
Julian Fantino and then Toronto Police Services Board Chair Norm Gardner, expressed
the Service’s commitment to work in good faith at the Conference to discuss the use of
lethal force by police, particularly as it related to less lethal technology, issues of mental
health, issues of race, issues of police accountability, issues of community responsibility,
and potential solutions to avoid deaths. The goal of the conference was to bring about
dialogue and progress on developing alternatives to the use of lethal force by police. 6
70. Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams (MCIT): The first MCIT unit became
operational in 2000, providing coverage for one police division in conjunction with St.
Michael’s Hospital. As explained below in Chapter 11 (MCIT and Other Models of Crisis
Resolution), MCIT teams consist of a front line police officer and a mental health nurse
from a partner hospital who act as secondary responders to calls for service involving
mental health issues. The goal of the MCIT program was (and remains) to assist front
line officers in interacting with people with mental health issues, to help those with
mental health issues to get access to treatment and community referrals, and to divert
people with mental health issues from the criminal justice system to the mental health
system where appropriate.
4
Sergeant Scott Weidmark, Toronto Police Service, “Status of the Initiatives of the Toronto Police Service that deal with Mentally Ill,
Emotionally Disturbed Persons” (Toronto, ON: Toronto Police Service, December 2005). The annual requalification training is
discussed in further detail in Chapter 7 (Training).
5
Ibid.
6
See Urban Alliance on Race Relations & Queen Street Patients Council, Saving Lives: Alternatives to the Use of Lethal Force by
Police – Report of a Conference Held in Toronto, June 23-24, 2000 (Toronto, ON: Urban Alliance on Race Relations, 2002),
online: Urban Alliance on Race Relations .
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