Who are we?

This organization, composed jointly of police officers and mental health professionals, provides information, contacts and support to police officers and services to aid in their work with individuals experiencing mental illnesses. Its primary goal is to ensure that individuals who suffer from mental illnesses are not “criminalized” inappropriately but rather are directed toward the system which is most appropriate for them in their circumstances. It may be that this means entry into the criminal justice system if indeed a crime has been committed—but equally, it may mean that they are directed to the mental health system, or—if it is their choice and they do not represent a danger—no system at all. Obvious as this goal may be, it has often fallen to police departments in recent years to take the lead role in directing these individuals to services. Lack of easily assessable community mental health services combined with the comfortable public expectation that the police fix all things means that calls to assist a person with a mental illness who appears to be in trouble go to the police.

A secondary goal of this committee is to ensure that both the police and mental health resources dedicated to this type of work are used efficiently and effectively. Many police departments are spending significant amounts of money in responding to calls involving mentally ill individuals. Is this a reasonable and effective expenditure? Would these problems best be handled in some other fashion?

The CNCPMHL is a group dedicated to identifying and finding solutions for people with mental illnesses who come to the attention of the police.

Issues of concern to the group include:

• Training for police in understanding mental illness including psychosis, mood disorders and dementia
  
• Effective liaison models: what’s out there and what could there be?
  
• Training for mental health professionals related to working with the criminal justice system
  
• Partnerships between correctional facilities, mental health facilities and the police
  
• Research and data collection mechanisms to support the development of “best practices”
  
• Less lethal uses of force
  
• Effective mental health legislation

The current leadership comes from the steering committee comprised of:

Co-Chairs:

Chief Terry Coleman, Moose Jaw Police Service
Dr. Dorothy Cotton, Psychologist, Correctional Service Canada and Queen's University

Members:

Agent Michael Arruda, Service de Police de la Ville de Montreal
Supt Ken Cenzura, Toronto Police Service
Supt Ward Clapham, Officer in Charge, RCMP, Richmond (BC) Detachment
Maureen Fedorus - Division Manager Psychosocial and Spiritual Services Division for Canadian Forces Health Care Centre (Ottawa)
Dr. Alexandra Heber, Psychiatrist, Canadian Forces Health Care Centre (Ottawa)
Devin Lynn, Program Coordinator, Mental Health Access and Crisis Response Services Vancouver Island Health Authority
The Honourable Justice Edward Ormston, Toronto Mental Health Court
Dr. Jeff Pfeifer, Professor of Psychology/Law Foundation of Saskatchewan Chair in Police Studies, University of Regina
Ms. Louise Riopel, Coordinator, l'Urgence psychosociale-justice de CLSC des Faubourgs (Montreal)

CNCPMHL is a sub-committee of the Human Resources Committee of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police