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OPP Set To Start A New Mental Health Strategy

Sunday, 6 December 2015 06:48

OXFORD COUNTY - The OPP now have a more comprehensive way to deal with mental health issues in the public and within their own ranks.

OXFORD COUNTY - The OPP now have a more comprehensive way to deal with mental health issues in the public and within their own ranks.

Provincial Media Relations Coordinator Sergeant Peter Leon says this came about after an Ontario Ombudsman's report detailed how serious occupational stress related injuries were for officers, "Not only does it deal with people that we are responsible for policing, but it also provides us with guidance and direction with respect to our members who could be dealing with challenges as a result of post traumatic stress disorder or operational stress related injuries as well."

Sergeant Leon says mental health issues like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder can be very serious for officers in both the OPP and all other people who serve. He looks back at the events in California earlier this week and can't help but feel empathy for the officers there and what they had to go through.

"Those officers that came into work, that responded to that incident, they did not know when they woke up what they would be doing. And the same holds true for the officers in the OPP and Policing in Canada for that matter. It's a very changing profession, we're dealing with a number of issues that have the potential to impact our lives."

This new plan is called the 'OPP Mental Health Strategy: Our People, Our Communities'

There are 15 key areas within the strategy including the expansion of mental health education and training for officers; increase capacity in the OPP Critical Incident Stress Response Team/Peer Support Program; improved data collection and on-going program evaluation; the development of transfer of care protocols (from police to health care provider); the facilitation of the development of police/mental health collaborative response models; and increased early referrals from police to mental health services.

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