Regina Police Service to expand dedicated mental health support team

Following a successful first year, the Regina Police and Crisis Team (PACT) will be expanding to offer support on mental health related calls seven days a week.

Currently, PACT consists of a full-time mental health professional and a police officer. It’s a partnership between the Regina Police Service (RPS) and Regina Qu’Appelle Health Region (RQHR).

Their goal is to help people experiencing a mental health crisis or addiction issues by directing them to the right kind of help; be it family, a shelter, detox, or the emergency room.

“There was 55 diversions from the emergency department, right, and that was just with the one PACT team, so we’re hoping we will be able to improve that,” RQHR outpatient mental health and addictions services director, Fiona O’Connor, said.

Starting on September 1, PACT be adding a second team. This will allow for mental health support to officers on the front lines 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Currently PACT operates five days a week on nine hour shifts.

Before PACT, officers most often brought people in a mental health crisis to the emergency room.

Inspector John Walker oversees the unit, and said PACT helps the overall police and health sector.

“We hope to provide quicker access to people in need of these services.”

Responding to mental health calls is a time consuming process. Last year, the RPS responded to 54,398 calls. The average call time was 49 minutes.

Over 1,100 calls where mental health was an issue were evaluated in the PACT study, and the average call time was over three hours.

“Those that are in crisis, they’re acting out for a reason and it’s not because of a criminal aspect most of the time,” Walker said.

During their first year, PACT evaluated 980 case files. The team successfully intervened and assessed 334 individuals that needed crisis intervention. Eighty-three per cent were successfully linked with appropriate resources, 13 per cent could have been arrested but were not, 10 per cent were already connected to resources and seven per cent declined services.

The Regina chapter of the Canadian Mental Health Association welcomes the upcoming expansion. Executive director Stacey Carmichael said they work alongside, and have called on PACT’s services.

“I think it will be extremely effective. Mental health crises don’t happen Monday to Friday, 9-5 right. No matter when they might happen, it’ll be great to have someone there to respond,” she said.

“Maybe they might be taken to a shelter or detox they didn’t know existed, or maybe in all fairness they’ll be taken to a hospital and actually admitted like they need to be.”