Vancouver police 'de facto' mental health workers: report

Some mental health experts say a new report by the Vancouver Police Department highlights a staggering gap in services for mentally ill people.

The leaked report by VPD Det. Fiona Wilson-Bates is to be released Monday morning.

Itsays that police have become the "de facto" front-line mental health workers of thecity.

During a 16-day period in September 2007, police tracked their response to emergency calls.

They found that one-third of the calls involved people with serious mental health problems.

More and more, police say they find themselves trying to get medical help or a place to stay for mentally ill people, and it's gobbling up millions of dollars in police time.

The result is that money is being spent on crisis management, instead of long-term solutions, said Kerry Jang, a University of British Columbia psychiatry professor.

"So, for example, a police officer answers a call for someone who has a psychotic break on the street and takes them straight to the emergency department,'' Jang said.

"They are obligated to stay with that person until they are seen, so of course that could be [many] hours.''

Still, by producing the report, the police have added an important voice to those calling for better, more co-ordinated services for mentally ill people, said Julian Somers, Director of the B.C. Centre for Applied Research in Mental Health and Addiction.