Saskatoon police introduce new option for mental health calls

Saskatoon Police have added a new protocol that directs 911 and non-emergency calls from people in distress to a local crisis intervention centre. It's a move to better deal with mental health crises in the city.

Police announced the new service on Wednesday as a voluntary alternative to police response. While the police and Saskatoon Crisis Intervention Servicehave worked in together before, the new protocol will provide a different partnership. It began earlier this month and will remain indefinitely, police say.

Callers will be asked if they want to be directed to Saskatoon Mobile Crisis, whose members have more extensive training to deal with mental health-related calls.

While police respond to criminal activity, the "softer end calls suits our role much better in the mental health realm as a crisis service," Rita Field, executive director of the Saskatoon Crisis Intervention Service running the mobile unit, said on CBC'sSaskatoon Morning.

It's a subtlebut significantchange in how the police force manages distress calls for mental health, Field said. It matches the calls to the right service.

"Many of these calls could have come directly to us but [are]impulsively calling 911, or not knowing where else to call," Field said.

Who do you call?

Field said there's a limited amount of around-the-clock intervention services. There are only three in Saskatchewan, she said, the Saskatoon location included.

Saskatoon Police deputy chief Mitch Yuzdepski said that means the police service is often the default agency people call.

"Based on the available research both locally and nationally, the pervasiveness of mental health embedded in many police calls for service is grossly underestimated," he said in a news release.

"In Saskatoon this includes the diversion of some mental health calls to the mobile crisis service and the expansion of the number of Police and Crisis Teams."

The police and crisis team pairs an officer with a mental health professional to better respond to calls for support and typically help people with mental illness or addiction issues.

The Saskatoon Police call-taker who receives the call has to cover a checklist before transferring the to the mobile crisis teamto ensure it's the right choice.

The call can't be an emergency, the caller can't be a danger to themselves, the public, or whoever may answer the call and their actions can't be criminal in nature. Then, if the caller agrees, the call-taker will transfer them to the mobile crisis unit.

From there, the crisis worker will decide if they will need to meet with the caller, travel directly to them, or handle it over the phone.

Change was on their 'radar'

Field said the shift has been on their radar since the police's role in mental health-related calls was questioned over the pandemic, particularly in the summer of 2020.

There were more than 1,500 mental health calls to Saskatoonpolice and crisis team over 2020, up from 949 in 2019.

She said people raised questions like "Why are mental health-related calls coming to 911 in the first place and what might we change or do better?"

She echoed Yuzdepski'sstatementthat some people may call 911 as the default agency and may not know about the crisis intervention service's 24/7 services.

"People will call 911 because they're, perhaps, emotionally elevated, have a personal situation that they're feeling a sense of being out of control, they need help," she said.

"Police may not need to go out there in uniform, it can actually elevate the situation needlessly if that's not what's needed."

Members of the crisis intervention service are trained as mental health crisis workers and may respond to calls about people having a panic attack or dealing with extreme anxiety who are alone and scared, Field said.