Mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat promises more emergency-response mental health workers

Thestar.com
September 18, 2018
Samantha Beattie

Jennifer Keesmaat has pledged to double the number of mental health workers paired with police officers to improve public safety if elected mayor.

Taking direct aim at Mayor John Tory’s leadership, Keesmaat told reporters at a campaign announcement Monday she would also, without increasing the $1-billion police budget, ensure community police officers are assigned to each of Toronto’s 140 neighbourhoods within four years, lower 911 response times, expand youth programming and ban dangerous weapons and ammunition. She said she’d do it all by reallocating resources to “preventative” measures.

Mayoral candidate Jennifer Keesmaat outlines her strategy to improve public safety, at Alton Towers Cir. and Ingleton Blvd. in Scarborough on Sept. 17.

“People are scared in this city and are looking to their leaders for answers and instead are finding cuts and delays and inaction,” Keesmaat said, standing at a podium on a quiet Scarborough residential street near where two young girls were shot at a playground in June.

“Under John Tory’s watch, the plan to transform and modernize our police, to improve public safety and re-instill public trust has stalled.”

Mental health nurses currently work alongside Toronto police in what are called mobile crisis intervention teams to respond to mental health-related incidents, assess people in crisis on site and provide treatment. Halfway through 2018, calls to police for people in emotional distress were up to 14,422, 10 per cent more than in 2017, according to police data.

Research suggests people with mental health problems are more likely to come into contact with police and be arrested or shot by police. Following the police shooting death of a mentally ill man, Andrew Loku, in 2015, a jury recommended more funding for mobile crisis intervention teams.

Keesmaat said she wants to “more than double” the number of mental health workers to “better manage emergencies involving people suffering from mental health crises.”

Otherwise, Keesmaat did not stray far from efforts Tory has already begun. Earlier this summer, city council requested the provincial and federal governments allow Toronto to implement handgun and ammunition bans, and approved a $44 million, five year plan to reduce gun violence.

The money would come from upper levels of government, with the majority going to community programs for at-risk youth and $13.5 million to enforcement, the Star reported.

Tory’s campaign team said it was glad Keesmaat supports his efforts to modernize policing and is confident he’s proven his leadership over the past four years in working well with police and other governments “to get things done.”

Former police service board chair Alok Mukherjee voiced his support for Keesmaat’s plan, saying it was “thoughtful” and “evidence-based,” while Tory’s leadership has failed to significantly change policing in Toronto.

“There have been implementation reports and modernization has been on everyone’s lips, including the mayor’s. The fact remains ... a more truly community-based model of policing remains undone and demonstrates a failure of leadership,” Mukherjee said.