A new partnership between the Regina Police Service and Mobile Crisis Services is hoping to take some pressure off police on the ground.
When Regina residents call 911, there is now a chance your call for help may be fielded by Mobile Crisis rather than the police.
As of Dec. 1, a new “call transfer portal” has been introduced that will transfer some calls involving suicide or mental health crisis from police to Mobile Crisis.
“Most people don’t know where to call,” said Jan Thorson, the director of Mobile Crisis Services. “They call police out of instinct because when you have a problem you call police and people don’t know to call us.”
Not every call will be transferred to Mobile Crisis, rather only calls where another layer of intervention is needed.
The protocol is meant to help those in a crisis talk with mental health experts, rather than untrained officers.
“It makes sense to transfer the service to us because we do have that expertise and training to deal with someone who is having a mental health crisis,” Thorson said. “I think it is important people get the service they need from the people who can deliver it.”
In order to enact the protocol, the call taker at Regina police must establish that the caller is the actual person in crisis, and the caller agrees to speak with a crisis worker rather than have police respond.
The call taker must also confirm other circumstances including that:
- There are no weapons involved.
- There is no need for medical attention.
- The situation does not indicate a domestic dispute.
If the call-taker determines that the appropriate response is police, EMS or fire, the call will not be transferred to Mobile Crisis Services. If the call fits the criteria to be handled by Mobile Crisis, then the call transfer occurs, with safeguards to ensure the caller gets assistance without having to call back.
Regina police said at no point will the caller ever be put on hold while the transfer occurs.