Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

a mental health aspect per day currently, and in the range of 300 to 400 such calls per
year.
95. The TPS have become de facto front line mental health workers. Responding to
mental health calls is now a regular and central part of the front line officer’s job, as
illustrated by the increased demand for the MCIT program, which is discussed in more
detail in Chapter 11 (MCIT and Other Models of Crisis Intervention), and the increased
training in the area of mental health over recent years, as described in Chapter 7,
(Training). The role of the TPS within the mental health system is the subject of its own
discussion in Chapter 4 (The Mental Health System and the Toronto Police Service).
96. One of the main concerns for police, in their expanded mental health role, is the
degree of risk posed to the front line officers who are required to respond to calls
involving a person in crisis. One sees this concern manifested, for example, in the
requirement that two armed police officers be dispatched in response to any EDP call. 13
97. The question of whether people with mental health issues pose a greater risk of
violence is a controversial one. Several stakeholders from the mental health community
expressed the view that people with mental illness are no more likely to be violent than
other members of the community, while at the same time, they are at increased risk of
being a victim of violence. There is a concern that people with mental illness are subject
to unfair stereotyping as having a propensity to violence, and that police may use more
force than necessary in apprehending people under the Mental Health Act as a
consequence. 14
98. At the same time, the Review was provided with research showing that there are
statistical correlations between violence and specific types of mental illness, and that the
correlations often increase when the individual also has a substance abuse disorder.
There is also research showing that certain types of violent behaviour are more often
committed by people who are mentally ill. 15
99. The relevance of the debate over violence and mental illness is not that it can be
resolved as part of this Review. Rather, this debate highlights the importance of
educating police about these issues and about the symptoms of various mental illnesses
in order to help front line officers accurately assess the risk posed by a specific person in
crisis. With mental health calls to the TPS increasing, it is more important now than
ever that police be well informed about the issues.
13
Toronto Police Service, “Communications Services Directives regarding/involved EDP’s” [sic] (Toronto, ON: Toronto Police
Service, undated) at C.5.5.4, C.6.1.6.
14
See e.g. Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario, “Violence and Mental Health: Unpacking a Complex Issue” (30 September
2011), online: Canadian Mental Health Association Ontario .
15
See e.g. Katrina Witt, Richard van Dorn & Seena Fazel, “Risk Factors for Violence in Psychosis: Systematic Review and Meta-
Regression Analysis of 110 Studies” (2013) 8:2 PLOS ONE e55942; S. Fazel et al., “Schizophrenia, substance abuse, and violent
crime.” (2009) 301:19 JAMA 2016; Jeffrey W. Swanson et al., “Violence and Psychiatric Disorder in the Community: Evidence
From the Epidemiologic Catchment Area Surveys” (1990) 41:7 Hosp Community Psychiatry 761.
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