Dispatching Car 867: Yukon pilot project pairs mental health nurse with RCMP for some emergency calls
CBC
The Yukon Government and the Whitehorse RCMP have teamed up to help support individuals experiencing mental health emergencies.
The partnership comes in the form of a new mobile crisis response team called Car 867.
The team has two members: an RCMP officer and a trained mental health nurse.
"Programs similar to this have been in place for 10, 15 years or more in various communities across Canada," said Cpl. Brent Edwards, the team lead on behalf of the Whitehorse RCMP.
"Car 867 is the first mobile crisis response team north of 60."
The three-year pilot project's objective is to offer trauma-informed, client-centred responses to mental health emergencies that the RCMP get called to, and to provide early intervention that could potentially divert people away from the criminal justice and hospital systems.
Edwards said officers are trained to deal with mental health emergencies, but that's no substitute for having a trained mental health professional available.
"It bridges that gap," Edwards said.
It also helps with community outreach, he noted — the team could possibly offer community supports, and the mental health nurse can give on-site assessments to help inform the police officer's own assessment of a person.
"Then, if need be for an apprehension, [that] can be provided to a doctor by a trained mental health professional," he explained.
Mental health emergency calls are handled by 9-1-1 operators. Once called, dispatch will determine if Car 867 is appropriate to respond.
When responding to a call, Car 867 will arrive on location to provide on-scene support, providing the unit is available and the call relates to a mental health issue or suicide risk.
Edwards said the unit has been adequately trained and outfitted to handle all types of situations.
"The nurse is provided with soft body armour," Edwards said. "They're identified with a patch on it that says 'nurse' to distinguish from the police officer."
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