Drumheller’s RCMP has been granted funding from the province for a Regional Police And Crisis Team (RPAC Team).
This will be a two-person team made up of a police officer and a health practitioner, specializing in mental health and will be available to Drumheller and surrounding communities. They ride in a police cruiser and are engaged to where police think they are best suited for mental health calls.
Staff Sergeant Robert Harms, explains that if someone is in emotional crisis, “There’s always been the argument: is a mental health call a police matter or a medical matter? It’s both.” Mental health calls Harms has been on are some of the most dangerous because, “You have someone who is in crisis and sometimes weapons may be involved. So, there needs to be a police component to it,” he says, “They can’t diagnose or offer the best treatment to that person, but when you have a health practitioner with you, they can. It’s the best of both worlds to help people out.”
