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Here's a snapshot of what London police respond to daily

Here is a snapshot of what London police officers say is a growing crisis

Officers struggling with mental health calls, union head says

Salma Ibrahim · CBC News ·
london police cruiser
The head of London's police union says heavy call volume is putting officers under pressure. (Liny Lamberink/CBC London)

London police call logs obtained by CBC News paint a picture of what officers navigate daily; an average of 280 calls that the police association calls "a crisis point." 

The overwhelming majority of calls from a two and a half-day period last week are classified as "trouble with person" calls.

Const. Sandasha Bough, a media relations officer with the London police, says that could mean "absolutely anything."

"It could range from a neighbour complaint to an issue with somebody walking by a residence, to an argument between two people. So the officers don't actually know what they're getting to until they've responded to that call," she explained.

The next most common calls are to check on someone's welfare, for domestic violence and for theft. 
Only 29 of the calls are classified as "Section 11 - Mental Health" calls but London police association president, Dave Gilmore, says almost every call has a mental health component.

"Pretty much everything we deal with on any given day is mental health-related; vulnerable people, homelessness, substance abuse, that's the majority of our calls," he said.  

'Zero downtime'

Gilmore, who has worked in local policing for 29 years, says ever since London switched to an outpatient mental health model, he has seen a significant uptick in the calls. 

He works as a supervisor in the street crime unit and says officers often have to leave a matter they're attending to switch to something more urgent. Call volumes can reach 150 to 200 calls waiting to be serviced, he says. 

"Officers essentially have zero downtime a day, and it's pretty tough," he explained, adding that something needs to change soon or officers risk burnout.

"We're beyond a crisis point now. There are more violent altercations every day," he said. "If you had more supports for mental health or substance abuse or homelessness, there'd be fewer reasons for people interacting with police. But now we're the sort of the catch-all," he said. 

Outreach service also slammed

The Medical Health and Addiction Crisis Centre at 648 Huron St. near Adelaide Street provides around-the-clock support on a walk-in basis for anyone in crisis. Another program, the city-funded London Cares, has a mobile outreach support unit to help with people in crisis, but they too are slammed. 

"Right now we have two teams, and I'm sure we can keep another two teams busy all the time just responding to the need on the street," executive director Anne Armstrong said. 
London's police services board has wrestled with the issue of dealing with mental health calls before, but former board member Mo Salih says more needs to be done to move the needle. 

"This is taxing on the people who are most vulnerable and need the support. This is taxing to officers who are putting their mental health on the line," he said. "Health sectors need to take the lead in this, and there needs to be more investment in those areas to address the crisis. "

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