Toronto police to be stationed in 3 ERs for mental health cases

Toronto police are embedding officers at three of the city's emergency rooms in a new pilot they say will reduce the time their officers spend with people in crisis — but some advocates worry their presence could discourage people from seeking help. 

Police say when an officer apprehends someone under the Mental Health Act and takes them to the hospital, they often have to stay with them for hours as they wait to get care — an issue they want to address to bring them back to their main policing duties faster. 

The special constables, labelled integrated hospital officers, will be at Toronto Western Hospital, Unity Health Toronto and Humber River Health, for 18 hours, seven days a week to assume the safe transfer of patients instead. 

The pilot, which began Monday and is set to run for a year, will see two constables stationed at the ERs of each hospital collaborating on the project. 

Peter Voros, vice-president of clinical programs at Humber River Health, said within the first two days of the pilot, officers were able to hand patients over to the specialized constables and return to their regular job within roughly 25 minutes — beating their target of 45 minutes. 

"It really means that police are able to be out in the community doing their role, not sitting in an emergency department waiting for a very busy doctor to see someone," he said, adding that Humber River sees more mental health apprehensions in the ER than any other hospital in the GTA. 

Marnie Escaf, a senior vice-president at University Health Network, said there are also great benefits to having consistent officers in their ER. 

"Because it's the same individuals, we're able within the department to develop relationships," she said. 

But Diana Chan McNally, a community worker, said she's worried about the possibility of officers in the ER doing a lot more than just accompanying people in crisis. 

"Are we also looking at a case where they may also be surveying other people in the room? If someone has an outstanding warrant, are they going to be arrested in the emergency room if they're there?" she said.

Doris Grinspun, CEO of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario, said constant police presence in the ER could dissuade people from going there, especially those coming from marginalized groups. 

"I'm not blaming the police, but they have not had positive encounters, right?" she said. 

In a written statement, Toronto Police spokesperson Nadine Ramadan said "this pilot has no intention of policing hospital waiting rooms and emergency departments. We are not looking to arrest people through this pilot."

Voros from Humber Health and Escaf from UHN assured that officers stationed in their ER will only be limited to helping the transfer of patients.