The integration of police officers into a mental health support team helped reduce the interactions clients had with law enforcement, University of Victoria researchers have found.
The Victoria Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) teams employ various health professionals to support individuals with serious mental health issues. The UVic study looked at the period between 2007 – when VicPD officers first joined the teams – and 2019.
The researchers wanted to see whether police involvement in the ACT teams increased or decreased the chance of clients interacting with the criminal justice system. They concluded that clients experienced fewer police interactions after they joined the ACT program. The study also found clients with a history of violence experienced fewer police interactions related to violence and got more mental health support after joining ACT.
"The Victoria ACT model successfully reduces risk of violence while also providing mental health support to clients who might not be able to be supported if police were not embedded on the teams," the study states.
The study noted people acting erratically in the community can be viewed as a criminal issue rather than an indicator of unstable mental health, which can result in the criminalization of mental illness.
"The Victoria ACT model appears to be a win-win: helping clients live in the community with less risk of criminalization while staff and community safety are also improved," the researchers wrote.
Island Health and VicPD approached the researchers to conduct the study and the UVic academics agreed on the condition they would have full independence to report their findings. The researchers conducted interviews with clients and others involved, and examined police data pertaining to those 448 individuals enroled in ACT.
Catherine Costigan, the study's co-author, said during a Sept. 17 news conference that clients became more open to having police officers around the longer they were involved in ACT. One of the first people they interviewed was a young woman who said the ACT officer helped her get a restraining order against a former partner, Costigan said.
Victoria's police chief said certain mental health calls, such as the ones that could turn violent or may involve weapons, require a police response. However, he touted how the ACT model can look at some cases through a health lens instead of a criminal one. VicPD has three ACT officers, with two currently active.
"Establishing positive relationships between our officers and clients reduces and prevents criminal activity in those dealing with mental illnesses," Manak said alongside the researchers.
The ACT program assists clients with severe mental health cases, such as those with schizophrenia and people experiencing psychosis.
Island Health's Echo Kulpas, a manager of community specialized outpatient services, said common intervention strategies have failed by the time clients get to ACT.
“Working together in these collaborative efforts reduces the harm to people who are often in crisis and reduces harm to the community and clinical mental heath staff,” Kulpas said.
The study found a steeper drop in police interactions for clients who were perceived as racialized by police compared to those perceived as white. The researchers speculated that "may be explained by lowered police bias as erratic behaviours are viewed by ACT officers through a mental health lens".
Asked about what that means for his patrol members, Manak noted all VicPD officers are required to undergo bias-free training. He credited how the results highlight the benefits of officers forming relationships with people over time.
"It's a relationship of trust and understanding, that's when you see more positive outcomes," the chief said, noting the situation is different for patrol officers who are responding to emergency calls. "The challenge though is they don't have that relationship that they have built."
