CHEK News – Jun. 15, 2022
Police are the default frontline responders to crisis events in B.C., and it’s those calls that end up, the most deadly.
“There is no question that the many many if not the majority of our cases in particular the officer-involved shooting cases involve persons who are in crisis or suffering from some form of mental or health wellness issue,” said Ron MacDonald, chief civilian director of the Independent Investigations Office of BC (IIO).
“One has to wonder, are we doing it the right way here in Canada?”
As an alternative to policing, Victoria’s ‘Peer-Assisted Crisis Teams’ have been promised, and are now set to launch at the end of August.
