West Shore RCMP Mental Health Unit

West Shore

2023-07-17 10:15 PDT

The West Shore RCMP is establishing a Mental Health Unit which will pair Frontline Police Officers with Mental Health Clinicians.

We are pleased to announce that the Province of BC and Island Health, has approved our request to provide clinicians for our Mental Health Unit at West Shore RCMP. The co-responding teams will bring police officers together with dedicated clinicians to assess individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, said Inspector Stephen Rose, Officer in charge of Operations at West Shore RCMP.

The unit will be comprised of 1 Corporal and 2 Constables who will work together with Mental Health Clinicians from Island Health to respond to mental health related calls for service in West Shore.

When making an apprehension under the Mental Health Act, the law requires a police officer to take an individual to a designated medical facility for assessment by a medical doctor. Apprehensions under the Mental Health Act are only made when absolutely necessary for the safety of the individual and those around them.

The need for the unit has grown over the past 5 years as the West Shore RCMP has seen a 39% increase in mental health related calls for service from 1163 calls in 2018 to 1622 mental health related calls in 2022.

Picture of Inspector Stephen Rose, In Charge of Operations at West Shore RCMP making the announcement of Mental Health Unit. Behind him stands representatives from West Shore Communities and MLA Ravi Parmar: 

Currently, frontline police officers attend mental health calls for service and, after gathering all available information, determine whether or not the individual experiencing the mental health crisis will be apprehended under the Mental Health Act. Frontline officers often make these decisions with little to no medical information as police do not have access to a patient’s medical records.

A co-responding team will allow officers to work with medical professionals and exchange necessary information that is critical to determining the best course of action for the individual experiencing the mental health crisis. Our goal is to have a co-responding team triage an individual experiencing a mental health crisis in their own home and by utilizing the information shared by the clinician, the team can potentially reduce the number of mental health apprehensions. This will provide better patient care and treatment plans.

This unit will serve all West Shore communities. We look forward to working with both the Province and Island Health to address mental health calls for service.

Released by

Cpl. Nancy Saggar

Email: westshore_media@rcmp-grc.gc.ca
Website: westshore.rcmp-grc.gc.ca (English only)

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