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Police, CMHA announce Addictions Crisis Team

Nov 24, 2017 | 8:40 AM

 

MEDICINE HAT, AB — The Medicine Hat Police Service has announced a new partnership to assist people in crisis as a result of addiction.

The Addictions Crisis Team (ACT), a partnership between the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) and the Police Service, was confirmed this morning.

The team will be focused on identifying high-risk individuals in the community in an effort to connect them to treatment and services to address addictions. The partnership will involve a clinician and a police officer working together and offer people individualized services.

Police say over the past two years, they’ve seen a trend in increased methamphetamine and heroin use in Medicine Hat. Police say they have seized 2,220 grams of methamphetamine so far this year, and says 2017 is on track to exceed previous records. So far this year, police say there have been 61 cases where individuals arrested with drugs also had weapons on them.

Due to the addictive nature of the drugs, people often resort to desperate behaviours in an attempt to support their addiction.

“We know that a lot of these people are struggling with addictions and they’re resorting to criminal activity to feed that habit. So if we can get them initially, and get them access to services, our goal is to help reduce crime and make Medicine Hat a safer place,” said Inspector Brent Secondiak.

Secondiak recognized that a more encompassing, preventative approach is needed, and locking people up who have underlying addiction problems is not the answer.

“It’s all about collaboration. We know that we can’t work in an island and we’re not going to change anything in the community just by putting people in jail,” said Secondiak.

The collaboration will be similiar to a partnership between police and Alberta Health Services called the Police and Crisis Team (PACT). However, Secondiak said ACT will be a more fluid, responsive team. 

CMHA Executive Director Cori Fischer believed there is great value in a partnership with police.

“One of the issues we’re having is sometimes finding the individuals who need that support and keeping them involved with us. So our hope is that by working with the Medicine Hat city police we’re going to be able to connect with those individuals quicker,” said Fischer

Fischer added that ACT will allow for early intervention to help people who are waiting to get into treatment centres. 

When asked if using police services will lead to problems where they are identifying individuals who do not want treatment, Fischer said she is not concerned.

“We find most of the people we work with [struggling] with addictions don’t want to be addicted, they want to look for a better lifestyle. It’s just they don’t have the resources or the coping skills to make that happen,” said Fischer.

The goal of ACT is to allow both organizations to help stabilize an individual’s addictions through streamlined access to community resources and services, while at the same time taking pressure off court and healthcare systems.

Funding for this initiative has been made available in part from the Medicine Hat Community Housing Society.