Peel police launches pilot project to de-escalate mental health crises

Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah

Peel Regional Police has launched a pilot project to deal with calls from person with addictions or in mental health crises.

Instead of sending out a team of police officers in response to such calls, two crisis workers would be dispatched.

They would be equipped with the training and tools to safely de-escalate the situation and refer individuals to necessary community supports and services. The team will operate 12 hours per day, seven days a week.

The team of crisis workers in the project will be built with employees from Canadian Mental Health Association Peel Dufferin, Punjabi Community Health Services (supporting the South Asian community) and Roots Community Services (supporting the Black and Caribbean community).

“To help ensure appropriate community resources are provided, Peel Regional Police will also embed a third crisis worker in our communications centre to provide support, education, and an immediate response to callers inquiring or requesting a mental health or addictions response,” said Peel Regional Police Chief Nishan Duraiappah in a news release.

“This program reinforces our commitment to multi-system approach to community safety and well-being. We are grateful to collaborate with these invaluable partners to support mental health in our community.”

“The goal is to have a mental health response to a mental health call. The intention is to reduce stigma and the criminalization of mental health and addictions. By offering appropriate clinical

David Smith
Angela Carter

interventions and connection to resources in the community, we will help reduce emergency room utilization and free up officers for appropriate police calls,” said David Smith, CEO, Canadian Mental Health Peel Dufferin.

 “We see this pilot as a critical response that will help to address the issue of individuals who need mental health supports in our community,” said Angela Carter, Executive Director of Roots Community Services.

“We believe that having mental health workers dealing with mental health issues will save lives because they are trained practitioners. They know how to talk to people who are in mental health crisis and they can provide that wrap around service that is desperately needed to help that individual who is going through a crisis,” she told The Caribbean Camera.