A qualitative evaluation of a co-responding mobile crisis intervention team in a small Canadian police service

Abstract

Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams (MCITs) are meant to assist the police in responding appropriately to calls involving persons in crisis with the goal of providing short-term crisis management, as well as open doors to available resources for long-term support. Many police agencies across North America have implemented a MCIT, however, evaluations of these programs are limited. This thesis presents a qualitative evaluation of the South Simcoe Police Services' (SSPS) Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST) located in Bradford, Ontario. The COAST is based on the MCIT model and builds on a partnership between SSPS and two mental health organizations within the community (Canadian Mental Health Association [CMHA] and York Support Service Network [YSSN]). The evaluation consisted of interviews with various stakeholder groups including COAST members, SSPS senior leaders and frontline officers, and senior leaders from YSSN and CMHA, Barrie. Throughout the interviews, it became clear that there was a great need for the COAST in South Simcoe due to the increasing number of crisis calls in which the police were required to respond. There was strong consensus among stakeholders that the COAST provides a better service than a conventional police response to those experiencing crises while also helping to bridge the gap between the police and mental health care providers who traditionally work in silos. Despite the perceived benefits of the COAST, the lack of resources was seen as a major challenge. That being said, the current findings still suggest that co-responding teams may improve the way the police respond to individuals in crisis.