The Mobile Crisis Response Team is four Lanark County OPP constables attending mental health crisis calls alongside social workers and nurses specially trained in handling emergencies to help de-escalate an individual.
It’s been a huge success since its implementation a few years ago. In a police services board meeting earlier this year, Smiths Falls Police Deputy Chief Jodi Empey said 75% of calls do not lead to a mental health hospital check-in, when that was 28% in 2016.
The SFPS are covered under the Lanark County OPP MCRT umbrella.
OPP Constable Joe Tereschuk says it’s a tight-knit but busy team.
Constable Kenny Fuentes came to the detachment from another OPP posting three years ago, and says he’s noticed a difference in how calls are handled.
The province provided just under $233,000 for the program to continue.
Story by Grant Deme
