Over the last year more than 6000 frontline members of the OPP have received mental health specific de-escalation training and almost 7000 members received mental health awareness and resiliency training.
It’s part of a commitment the OPP made in 2015 and implemented in 2016 called the OPP Mental Health Strategy:Our People,Our Communities.
The strategy is a comprehensive and integrated approach to improving the response to the mental health needs of their members and the public.
“The goal of the strategy is to mitigate risk, to reduce harm and victimization and to improve outcomes for people with mental health issues whether they are members of the OPP or members of our communities,” Commissioner J.V.N. (Vince) Hawkes says.
The results of the first year of the plan were released to coincide with the start of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health Week.
The OPP Mental Health Strategy has two related but distinct components – Supporting Our People: Healthy Workforce and Supporting Our Communities: Police Interactions with People with Mental Health Issues.
The service also increased access to the OPP Critical Incident Stress Response Team/Peer Support Program.
Advances made in the area of supporting communities also include an increase in early referrals to community support services for those with mental health issues; the introduction of a tool to aid officers in communicating more effectively and consistently with medical professionals.
“Members across the organization have embraced this strategy,” Commissioner Hawkes said. “It remains a work in progress and I am so proud of all that has been accomplished in a little over a year.”
