Durham Police – Unique Research Project Aims to Change the Way Police Respond to Mental Health Calls
The DRPS is proud to be a part of a dynamic new research project that intends to improve how officers interact with people during mental health crises.
The project, which received a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, will be taking a unique and cutting-edge approach to studying the effectiveness of mental-health response training.
The four-year long study is being conducted by researchers at Brock, Ryerson, and Wilfrid Laurier universities, as well as the Ontario Police College and other agencies. Using specially trained actors, groups of volunteer DRPS officers will be participating in problem-based scenarios. The research team hopes to develop a framework for creating the most realistic and effective mental-health training programs available for police officers across the country.
As a part of this study, the researchers are conducting a survey with members of the public who have had interactions with DRPS concerning a mental health issue. This is a completely anonymous and confidential survey. The feedback gathered will be collected and analyzed by the third-party researchers.
If you have had an interaction with DRPS involving mental health, please consider visiting http://pmhr.ca to fill out the survey.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love