Lorne Blumhagen, Lacombe Police Chief and AACP board member, says strides are being made in terms of dealing with mental illness. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

mental wellness

Police chiefs talk mental wellness at annual conference in Red Deer

Nov 14, 2019 | 3:51 PM

Leaders in law enforcement across the province say significant steps are being taken to break the stigma surrounding mental illness.

Police response to mental illness was the theme for the annual conference of the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police (AACP), held in Red Deer this week.

Discussion focused on the mental wellbeing of officers, and of people who are at the scene of a crime or other incident.

Lacombe Police Chief Lorne Blumhagen, who sits on the AACP’s board of directors, says looking at more effective ways to manage mental health is part of the service’s strategic plan.

“The reality is that every one of us has to deal with mental illness, whether it’s with ourselves, or our families, or coworkers, it’s out there. Our members are more informed now on how to access resources when they do identify those challenges,” Blumhagen says.

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“We have created systems for them to access resources, and we’ve created an environment where they feel comfortable in talking about those issues. We also offer ‘road to mental readiness’ (R2MR) training, which proves them information, and also so as coworkers, they can learn to identify somebody who might be struggling.”

It’s vital, he adds, for police services to collaborate with one another, but also with other organizations such as Alberta Health Services. In various cities, including Red Deer where the RCMP partner with the Primary Care Network, programs such as Police and Crisis Teams (PACT) assist community members who are experiencing a mental health crisis.

“There are various technologies out there to better assess; through PACT and other things it helps to get appointments with medical professionals quicker. Is there a lot of work to do in the province? You bet,” admits Dale McFee, Edmonton Police Chief and AACP president.

“It’s one of those things where we’re now at the point it’s become urgent, there’s more data to explain what we’re doing, and to know better is to do better. So we’re trying to use our data and the resources we have to actually take stuff out of the justice system that probably isn’t best dealt with there. If we’re going to make strides with this, it’s going to have to be a police and public health response.”

McFee notes there has been an uptick of officers in his detachment recognizing when they need time off to take care of their mental health.

Asked if budget complications could have adverse effects on mental health initiatives, McFee said hopefully not.

“As police leaders, we need to make sure we protect those programs because those are the programs where we’re actually getting some measurable outcomes,” he said. “We need to be diligent, and when money gets tighter, it should hopefully force partnerships that we’ve made strides in, but haven’t gotten far enough with.”