Over the last month, the world has seen an outcry from people of colour, Indigenous peoples, minorities, and allies. Events of police violence and mental health calls ending in tragedy is all over the media, and it is quite clear that what we as a society are currently doing to respond is simply not enough. While the world is calling for defunding the police, I am asking that Guelph Police Services along with the City of Guelph reallocates some of the 46.14 million dollars of funding the police received for 2020, to incorporate a Mobile Rapid Crisis Response Team.

Currently, Guelph has an IMPACT team. The impact team does wonderful work, but with a Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team, we can get more citizens the help they need at the moment they need it most. 

The Mobile Rapid Response Team pairs a police officer with a trained mental health professional and dispatches them to in-process calls involving a person in crisis. Hamilton Police Service implemented this in 2013, as the first of its kind. This program ensures that people in crisis are receiving the frontline help they need, instead of being met by an armed police officer who does not have the training of a mental health professional. Since their implementation of this program, this team has “reduced our apprehension rate from 66% to 25 % and people are getting the quality health care they need in a timelier manner” (Hamilton Police Service, 2018). 

Our community needs mental health professionals responding to wellness checks/crisis calls. By implementing a Mobile Rapid Crisis Response Team, or at least expanding the current IMPACT team, we are taking a stride towards bettering our communities and protecting our citizens by giving them the help they need, when they need it most.