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
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.