http://www.theprovince.com/health/M...ers+transit+suffer+mental/10243850/story.html
Transit Police Chief Officer Neil Dubord knew his officers were dealing with a lot of files that involved mental illness, but when he asked for more comprehensive numbers the results were surprising.
Based on current trends, it’s projected there will be a 36 per cent increase this year in the number of transit police files having a Mental Health Act component.
A lot of the problems originate with just a few people.
Mental instability is one of the recorded cautions attached to all of the top eight frequent offenders that ride transit.
The highest number of transit police files is 560 from one offender, who has a total of 746 files including other jurisdictions, resulting in a total of 200 charges. Other cautions on that offender are that they have a contagious disease and are violent.
Even more disturbing is one case that only has 59 transit police files but a stunning total of 2,058 files overall and 53 charges. The individual is violent and an escape risk.
“We have a certain number of offenders that we deal with on a frequent basis that have a mental illness that is going untreated,” said Dubord.
“Because we’re the agency of last resort, we’re the only 24/7 social agency, often the police end up managing these situations when these people should be getting some other form of treatment,” he said.
Complicating the situation for Dubord and his 167 officers is that they operate in an area encompassing 1,800 square kilometres in 22 municipalities with 17 different police forces, two health authorities and a variety of social agencies.
He has been considering calling a summit with all the stakeholders to try find a solution.
“We’re the thread that goes through all these jurisdictions,” said Dubord.
With mental illness, the typical response of arresting someone often isn’t a solution.
“Putting them in jail isn’t working,” said Dubord. “We have to figure out some other way of managing these people so that they can get the treatment they require, so we can pay them the respect they deserve ...”
While mental illness on transit is an ongoing issue for police, it’s also felt by those “other people” — the everyday riders.
Just last week, on Sept. 23, thousands of afternoon commuters on SkyTrain faced delays because of a ‘medical emergency’ at Surrey Central. In that case, the medical emergency was a woman’s suicide.
It was the second such incident that Tuesday, as two-and-a-half hours previously another woman had unsuccessfully attempted to kill herself at a different SkyTrain station.
Dubord likens the SkyTrain to a bridge with multiple points for the troubled to jump to their death.
Like other forces, transit police officers are being trained to deal with those living with mental illness.
In Richmond, both the RCMP and transit police have partnered with Pathways, a division of the Canadian Mental Health Association, for training of officers by individuals who are living with mental illness and who have had previous interactions with police.
“They’re the experts,” said Pathways executive-director Dave MacDonald of those individuals.
As helpful as that training may be, police are not the answer to mental health issues.
“They’re still dealing with it,” said MacDonald. “That’s the problem.”
He believes solutions could lie in funding for more community-based services and housing.
There are only 129 housing spaces for people with mental illness in Richmond and Pathways has 100 people on a waiting list for any of those spaces.
“If they don’t have a place to call home and they’re living on the street, of course it’s going to affect your mental health,” said MacDonald. “Those that have housing, it makes a world of difference.”
The Pivot Legal Society, an Vancouver advocacy group based in the Downtown Eastside, applauds the additional training officers are getting to identify and respond to mental illness.
But lawyer Douglas King of Pivot pointed out those training programs were a response to inquest recommendations after the Vancouver police shootings of Michael Vann Hubbard and Paul Boyd, both of whom suffered from mental illness.
King is dealing with a case where an employee called his company’s help line with fears of suicidal tendencies.
The police responded with an emergency response team.
“That’s probably the worst way to de-escalate a situation,” said King.
“There should be a 24-hour place where people with mental health concerns can go if they’re feeling they need assistance,” he said. “The police shouldn’t be the point of contact.”
There are also implications for privacy because there are records of contact with police, and those records could have implications for employment.
fluba@theprovince.com
twitter.com/frankluba
© Copyright (c) The Province
