Toronto police are launching a one-year pilot project which will see some 911 calls diverted to a community-based crisis response centre.
Posted Jun 25, 2021, 05:20AM EDT
Toronto police are launching a one-year pilot project which will see some 911 calls diverted to a community-based crisis response centre.
The Gerstein Crisis Centre, a well established 24-hour mental health service, will work with police to try and divert as many of the mental health calls as possible away from an armed police response.
Under the pilot project, call-takers in the Toronto police communications call centre will evaluate incoming calls and determine if a crisis worker is better suited to handling the situation rather than a police response. The crisis worker would be able to provide immediate support and intervention, referrals and connection to further services as needed.
Should the call require a police response – such as one that involves weapons, an imminent threat to life or domestic violence – the crisis worker would be able to assist in trying to de-escalate the situation until police and/or a Mobile Crisis Intervention Team arrive on scene.
The death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet in May of 2020 escalated calls to reform how police respond to a mental health crisis. The 29-year-old fell to her death from her apartment balcony while police were on scene responding to a 911 call for help. The province’s Special Investigations Unit cleared Toronto police of any criminal wrongdoing in her death.
“This collaboration with Gerstein Crisis Centre supports our mutual goal of a fast, effective and compassionate response for people experiencing a mental health related crisis in our community,” said Deputy Chief Peter Yuen. “This pilot project is one of several ways TPS is addressing an appeal from the mental health community to explore alternative models of mental health crisis response.”
The pilot project is scheduled to begin late summer in the downtown neighbourhoods within 14, 51 and 52 Divisions. It is part of 81 recommendations on police reform accepted last year which called for the development of alternative models of community safety response for mental health calls.
