A woman in her 50s calls to complain about the noise from the neighbors. When police arrived, the woman was well dressed and appeared to be in perfect health. She has a good job. Except that the walls and ceilings of the apartment are completely covered with aluminum foil. In her bedroom, the ceiling is lined with cork and there are cast-iron frying pans next to the pillows.
Posted at 5:00 am.
Her neighbors, she explains to the police, were making a hell of a noise and “attacking her with waves.” Hence this decor aimed at “protecting” it. She just moved and unfortunately these loud neighbors followed her. She wants to file a complaint. Clearly this woman has a disturbed mental state. But it is not dangerous to itself or to others.
This call, which dates back several years, is very real. The person who reported it received it himself: Pier-Luc Paquet, who now serves as a sergeant for the immersion program, was then working as a patrol officer at Neighborhood Station 39 in northern Montreal. His question to the 20 recruits: What do you do with a call like that? The young recruits are a little surprised. The answer ? “We have to try to get her to the doctor without her exploding.” » One and a half hours of work for the patrol officer.
Mental illness is the primary cause of more than half of the calls received annually by the Montreal Police Service (SPVM), estimates civilian Julie Bérubé, who works as a mental health consultant for SPVM management. The number is not official because it is impossible to accurately count the type of calls received.
It may be a noise complaint and the patrol officer goes there and it’s a mental health case.
Julie Bérubé, civilian employee of the SPVM
The 50% figure is based on patrol officer assessments. “What is certain is that it has increased dramatically in the last ten years,” says Ms. Bérubé.
In 2022, at the request of a coroner, Ms. Bérubé counted 12,000 incident reports that provoked interventions on people with disturbed mental status. “And if the officer goes to the trouble of creating an incident report, it’s because it’s significant. » However, this number is still very incomplete, says SPVM spokeswoman Anik de Repentigny, as defendants with mental disorders are excluded from this calculation if a crime has been committed. The report is then recorded with the code of the crime committed.
What is a crisis?
When police officers respond to such a call, they must constantly monitor their safety, recalls Valérie Courtemanche of the Psychosocial Emergency Support Team (ESUP), which comes in a mixed brigade with social workers to support the work of police officers in cases of such mental disorders. In 2022, the team performed 4,500 procedures.
Take this person who lies on his bed for three days and no longer eats or takes his medication. His brother called 911. “Is this person in crisis?” she asks the recruits. Only a few young police officers say yes.
“Yes, this person is in crisis. And it can be very dangerous. It fits the profile of calls I’ve had where things were most heated, including a person who was tasered three times and was still standing. Crisis does not necessarily mean turmoil. Be careful, if you get your hands on it it is very likely that it will explode. »
The explosion. This is what the police fear most. Let’s remember a statistic: eight out of ten people shot by police in recent years showed signs of disturbed mental health.
“I look out the window and there are three cars in front of my house. Its scary. Tell yourself that this fear is multiplied a thousandfold for someone in crisis. “It can not only increase the crisis, but also lead to acting out,” explains presenter Varda Étienne, who suffers from bipolar and borderline personality disorder, to the young police officers.
During a major crisis, the calm and calm intervention of police officer Michel Dubeau made the crucial difference in his case, says the moderator. “The memory I have of that meeting is that I was not in the presence of a police officer, but of a friendly man. If he had had a different attitude, it could have been very bad,” she told the recruits.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Varda Étienne
The first five seconds will determine how your procedure will go.
Host Varda Étienne suffers from bipolar and borderline personality disorder
“When I just came back here, I was scared,” adds filmmaker Réal Junior Leblanc from Uashat-Mani-Utenam, who also came to hold a conference for recruits at the SPVM headquarters. I’m still a little afraid of police cars today. The car is the metal wall. Go for a stroll. You have to have human contact. We’re going to joke with you. If you don’t join in, people will say: He’s not a joker. » Mr. Leblanc has had major drug addiction problems, crime episodes and prison stints in the past.
At the L’autre maison crisis center in southwest Montreal, visiting recruits note the state of mental devastation of certain beneficiaries. Like this user sitting at the table, staring and almost unable to interact with anyone. She falls into a suicidal crisis.
Or this Ukrainian beneficiary who fled the war with her dog. The crisis center has been hosting him on an exceptional basis for weeks. “Without this place I wouldn’t have survived,” she says. The young woman suffers from great post-traumatic stress.
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Isabelle Ferland, head of the crisis center L’autre maison
If you have experienced a war, you need a break.
Isabelle Ferland, head of the crisis center L’autre maison
Ms. Ferland has 35 years of experience working with people in crisis. Schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar, depression, suicide attempts, she has experienced it all. She welcomes young police officers “in the hope of changing their attitudes towards people with mental illness so that they are less repressive,” she says.
“It’s possible to talk to them… we do that here every day! »
PHOTO OLIVIER JEAN, THE PRESS
On Tuesday, all recruits received a call from the commander in charge of the neighborhood post to which they will be assigned starting Monday. The young police officers expressed their preferences; Most wanted to go somewhere “busy.” The majority of the 102nd Cohort’s recruits were assigned to positions west of Montreal.