By Charlene Tebbutt

Police to partner with mental health professionals

Oct 26, 2018 | 2:00 PM

It’s a first for Prince Albert.

A provincial program with success in Saskatoon and Regina is being expanded across the province, pairing police officers with health professionals to respond to mental health emergencies. The new Police and Crisis Team (PACT) was officially announced Friday, with Prince Albert becoming one of four communities across Saskatchewan to receive funding for the new mobile initiative.

The PACT is also being rolled out in North Battleford, Yorkton and Moose Jaw.

The new local program involves the Prince Albert Police Service, the Government of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Jon Bergen, acting chief of police with the Prince Albert Police Service, said officers spend an average of nearly two hours on each call involving people in mental health crises, and he welcomes the opportunity to match two senior members of the police force with the PACT.

In 2018 alone, the police service responded to 154 emergency calls involving mental health, 244 calls involving attempted suicide and 43 mental health warrants of apprehension, Bergen said.

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“It’s new to Prince Albert but not something new. It’s been tested, it’s been tried in the other areas of the province and we know that it works,” Bergen said Friday. “We think that it’s going to create efficiencies for our first responders.”

The SHA is dedicating one psychiatric nurse to the initiative plus two social workers to the local program. Andrew McLetchie, vice president of integrated northern health with the SHA said the PACT will better serve people who are struggling and in need of mental health services.

‘What we were seeing is people in a sense being responded to by the police being brought to the ER and being seen by ER physicians, and it’s maybe not the best way to always deal with every type of mental health crisis,” McLetchie said. “With this, it allows for people to be dealt with in the community by a professional who can respond to their health needs, and either prevent them going to the ER, and also in a sense make it so it isn’t a criminal issue.”

The new PACT program was announced earlier this week in the province’s throne speech. Minister of Crown Investments and Prince Albert Carlton MLA Joe Hargrave said the province is contributing $980,000 to help fund the initiative in the four communities.

“We have to take a different approach than has been taken in the past so that we’re treating them properly, that we’re not just throwing them into the criminal justice system,” Hargrave said. “So this way, we can deal with that individual in the proper manner and help them, which helps our community.”

Bergen said the new PACT is also a great fit for the city’s community mobilization program, which works to find supports with local health, education and community organizations to help those in crisis. Bergen said the PACT will also be useful in dealing with missing persons cases and family disputes, which also account for a large number of reports to police each year.

“We think mental health response ties into all these areas,” Bergen said. “When we look at these numbers, we know that there’s some sort of daily occurrence, whether it be mental health or addictions, they’re absolutely tied closely together.”

Charlene.tebbutt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @CharleneTebbutt