Groups call to end deploying police for wellness checks

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 08, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: March 8

Three situation advocacy organizations want police deployments for intelligence wellness checks to extremity aft the deaths of 2 men successful constabulary custody in the span of little than a week past period successful Halifax.

In some cases, the men — who were experiencing intelligence wellness distress — were Tasered aft allegedly becoming assertive with responding officers. Nova Scotia's constabulary watchdog, the Serious Incident Response Team, is investigating some incidents.

The East Coast Prison Justice Society, PATH Legal and the Elizabeth Fry Society of Mainland Nova Scotia accidental a civilian situation effect squad would beryllium a amended option in specified cases. Halifax Regional Municipality is aiming to motorboat a aviator task this year.

"A programme that prioritizes civilian effect simply means that alternatively than dispatching the police, we dispatch trained professionals and situation enactment workers who are disposable to respond to a full clump of situations," Jamie Livingston, a criminology prof astatine Saint Mary's University successful Halifax, told CBC's Mainstreet Halifax connected Friday.

He said those workers, aft taking attraction of a person's "self-identified needs," could past connection followup enactment and referrals to disposable assemblage services.

"It's truly important to supply a non-police enactment for radical who necessitate care."

Civilian effect option

Livingston said probe shows a civilian effect enactment would beryllium little costly and much effectual than police. He said that would besides beryllium the penchant of people dealing with mental wellness distress and substance use.

"I conducted a survey past twelvemonth involving radical who unrecorded with intelligence wellness and substance usage services present successful Nova Scotia asking them if you were successful crisis, what would you similar to see? And they would similar to spot not the police," Livingston said.

More than 200 communities successful North America supply options to telephone for assistance involving civilians alternatively than police, helium said. He pointed to the Toronto Community Crisis Service and Anchor successful Ottawa arsenic 2 Canadian examples.

El Jones, who co-authored a 2022 study called Defunding the Police: Defining the Way Forward for HRM, said constabulary shouldn't beryllium responding for mental wellness checks.

"Halifax has been saying for immoderate clip present that we are successful the process of implementing civilian teams. Twenty years ago, erstwhile we got mobile wellness situation [services], that was really the cutting edge. We were 1 of the starring cities successful presumption of implementing intelligence wellness responses. And since then … we've been surpassed by virtually each different jurisdiction," Jones said.

"We proceed to bash what has been proven to not enactment successful this slow-moving process. We've had immoderate assurances, immoderate indications that this is developing, but we haven't had existent transparency astir what's happening, existent timelines, immoderate urgency astir thing that is taking the lives of our assemblage members."

Increasing the stigma

Jones, who was scheduled to participate in a march Friday nighttime successful Halifax to request constabulary beryllium taken disconnected wellness checks, said erstwhile intelligence wellness is treated arsenic a transgression issue, a nationalist information contented oregon a policing issue, it ends up expanding the stigma of intelligence health.

"That trickles down to everybody, not those lone successful crisis, but everybody who whitethorn consciousness a reluctance to question assistance oregon get therapy oregon scope retired due to the fact that of the mode that we dainty intelligence wellness arsenic criminal, those who endure from intelligence wellness struggles arsenic violent, the proposition that you're a hazard to society. These narratives interaction everybody," Jones said.

Both Halifax Regional Police and Halifax RCMP have spoken successful enactment of more civilian-led teams to amended service people and assistance escaped up officers for constabulary duties.

In a connection earlier this week, Halifax Regional Police spokesperson Const. Martin Cromwell said constabulary spouse with the Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team, an inaugural with Nova Scotia Health and the IWK, "that pairs a constabulary serviceman with a intelligence wellness clinician to proactively code intelligence wellness issues successful the assemblage arsenic an aboriginal intervention."

"We admit determination is much enactment to do, and we look guardant to further discussions," Cromwell added.