A partnership between a Carleton PhD student and the Peel Regional Police has saved the police force an estimated $113,000 in the first six months.
Michael Halinski, a student in the Sprott School of Business, worked together with police to create a more efficient way of dealing with mental health crises to save both man hours and budget costs.
Peel police began to have problems when reductions in the social services’ budget, as well as the closure of mental health hospitals, resulted in the police having to take on more responsibilities, according to Halinski.
This came at an increased cost to the force, as officers would regularly spend hours—sometimes an entire shift—waiting with mental health patients before they were assessed by doctors.
When Peel police receive a call regarding a mental health crisis, Halinski said officers report to the scene and immediately have to determine if the individual is a danger to either themselves or others. The officers then bring the involuntary patient to the hospital, where they must remain with the individual until they can be assessed by a doctor.
According to Halinski, the wait time for police officers was equivalent to $1.1 million of their annual budget.
He said he became involved with this project after Peel police reached out to his supervisor in hopes of addressing this issue.
He began by collecting data through interviews, and researched the issue further through programs such as a police ride-along. He also worked in combination with Peel police and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA).
“Each leader was chipping in and contributing to the conversation . . . we had to ensure that the common goal was also fitting to each individual organization,” Halinski said.
Together, the group was able to come up with a new format for how mental health crises should be dealt with, he said. The program starts with officers receiving mandatory mental health training, both online and in person. The training the officers complete enables them to give a more thorough assessment of the problem, which speeds up the process at the hospital, according to Halinski.
In turn, the hospital has a target of a two-hour wait period for officers with mental health patients. Officers who have been waiting for two hours are to be given immediate priority, so long as a more urgent situation is not ahead of them.
After the patient is assessed, the CMHA’s Peel branch works with the patient inside the hospital, to connect them with resources outside of the hospital.
Halinski said the police are mostly concerned with the input of patients into the hospital, while the CMHA focuses on the output.
The program has been effective in creating faster and more efficient healthcare for mental health patients, as well as reducing costs for Peel police, he said.
Halinski said that within the first six months, these improvements have already saved $113,000 worth of man hours.
But there’s still room for more improvement. Halinski said that while this program has been successful so far, there is still more work to be done.
Currently completing his PhD at Carleton’s Sprott School of Business, Halinski is also working as a consultant with the Toronto Police Association.
