Victoria police and Island Health launch dedicated mental health response team
Police in B.C.'s capital are pairing up with mental health workers to better respond to service calls involving people struggling with mental health and substance-use issues.
The new co-response team (CRT) partnership between Island Health and the Victoria Police Department officially launched Monday.
The program pairs officers with registered mental health clinicians to respond to calls involving mental health issues in Victoria and Esquimalt, B.C.
The service will operate seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
"VicPD has long advocated for resources to help improve our response to mental health calls,” Victoria police Chief Del Manak said in a statement announcing the launch Monday.
"This is an initiative that will ensure the citizens of Victoria and Esquimalt have a high level of both mental health care and safety when officers respond to mental health calls, and that our frontline officers can remain focused on responding to calls where police should lead, such as preventing and investigating crime, and maintaining public safety."
Leah Hollins, board chair with Island Health, said the program aims to reduce harm to people in crisis and to the community overall.
"These services provide rapid interventions, connect people with services and aim to reduce a person’s involvement with emergency health services, the criminal justice system and law enforcement," she added.
Jennifer Whiteside, B.C.'s minister of mental health and addictions, said the new co-response team will support people who are in distress due to mental health or substance-use issues.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.