Policing advocate says staffing near ‘crisis levels’ as mental health claims rise

Officer wellbeing is a growing concern at the Halifax Regional Police service, according to the president of the local policing association, and it started before COVID-19.

Officer wellbeing is a growing concern at the Halifax Regional Police service, according to the president of the local policing association.

Dean Stienburg, the president of the Halifax Regional Police Association, says staffing levels are nearing a state of crisis, as a significant number of officers are off work. But it’s not just the pandemic putting pressures on policing, he says. A steady rise in mental health claims over the past three years are pulling officers away from the frontlines.

“The numbers started to rise pre-pandemic, and through the pandemic we started to see a considerable rise — almost exponential,” says Stienburg.

“It has dramatically affected the number on the street, and we really need to figure out a solution to get people healthy.”

Stienburg says he’s unsure why there’s been an increase in claims, although he suspects additional pressures due to the pandemic are to blame, along with increased workload due to staff shortages and overall changes in policing.

“To a certain degree, some of the negative publicity in the media over the last couple of years has played on people and they find that difficult and hard to deal with,” he says.

Stienburg says the current mental health treatment offered to officers is simply not effective. He’s calling for Halifax Regional Police to adopt a new approach, similar to other police departments, such as the Calgary Police Service and the Fredericton Police Force. Those departments are working with The Newly Institute, an interdisciplinary clinic that opened its second location in Fredericton in February.

“Our mantra is rapid access, rapid recovery and rapid return to work,” says Arthur Kwan, president and CEO of the clinic.