VANCOUVER POLICE DEPARTMENT REPORT TO THE VANCOUVER POLICE BOARD REPORT DATE: 2016-07-12 BOARD MEETING DATE: 2016-07-21 BOARD REPORT # 1607V01 Regular TO: Vancouver Police Board FROM: Daryl Wiebe, Superintendent Investigative Support Services SUBJECT: One-year update on the implementation of recommendations resulting from the VPD review of findings from the Toronto-based use-of-force reviews ____________________________________________________________________________ RECOMMENDATION: This report is provided to the Vancouver Police Board for information. No decision required. SUMMARY: In late-2014, the VPD completed a thorough review of the recommendations found within two Ontario-based reports that speak to police use-of-force when dealing with persons living with mental illness. The reports are: • The Iacobucci Review into police use-of-force in the Toronto Police Service (TPS)1; and, • The recommendations from the Coroner’s Jury following the ‘JKE’ inquest in Toronto2. The objective of the VPD review was to apply a local lens to the 158 recommendations, and assess them against current practices within the VPD. The local review provided nine recommendations for change within the VPD, in an effort to ensure VPD personnel are best equipped to deal with persons living with mental illness and who are in crisis. 1 Iacobucci, F. (2014). Police Encounters with People in Crisis. Toronto Police Service. Found at: https://www.torontopolice.on.ca/publications/files/reports/police_encounters_with_people_in_crisis_2 014.pdf 2 Eden, D. (2014). Verdict of Coroner’s Jury into the death of Reyal Jardine-Douglas, Sylvia Klibingaitis, and Michael Eligon. Found at: http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca/stellent/groups/public/@mcscs/@www/@com/documents/webasset/e c167854.pdf The nine recommendations are: 1. That the VPD develop a policy document, in consultation with mental health professionals, that openly articulates the organizations commitment to dealing with persons living with mental illness in the least intrusive manner, focussing on de- escalation techniques when dealing with persons in crisis, and the desired outcome of a resolution without the need to use force. 2. That the VPD Planning, Research and Audit Section develop an internal process that guarantees annual review of policies and procedures identified as ‘high risk’ on a proactive basis, and based on a pre-determined schedule. 3. That the VPD provide additional mental health training, and specifically the MHCC program “Mental Health First Aid” to police officers who are more likely to come into contact with persons living with mental illness. This training should also be provided to members who fill a leadership role in mentoring and developing other officers, including front-line Patrol supervisors and recruit field trainers. 4. That the VPD provide the MHCC program “Mental Health First Aid” to all new VPD police officers who graduate from the JIBC, thereby increasing their knowledge on mental illness in the formative stages of their career when they cannot yet draw on a depth of experience. 5. That the VPD expand its deployment of CEWs to front-line personnel, achieving a total of 200 operators by the end of 2015, and a further 100 operators by the end of 2016. 6. That the VPD Recruiting Unit incorporate applicants’ past experiences dealing with persons living with mental illness as a part of their overall competitiveness in the recruiting process, and recognize its value in assessing candidates to become police officers. 7. That the VPD incorporate the importance of demonstrated skills in de-escalation techniques into employee performance appraisals, and recognize members for their proficiency in this communication competency. 8. That the VPD continue to monitor the implementation of relevant recommendations, and report back to the Executive on progress after one year. 9. That the VPD share this report with other partner agencies, and the BC Association of Municipal Chiefs of Police, for their review and consideration going forward. All of the recommendations are complete and this this report is provided to the Vancouver Police Board for information. No further action or decision required. 2 BACKGROUND: Two significant reports were published in Ontario regarding police use-of-force, and in particular when dealing with persons living with mental illness. These reports provide a combined 158 recommendations directed at the Toronto Police Service (TPS), the Toronto Police College, the Ontario Police College, and the provincial government in Ontario. The first report is from a coroner following an inquest into the death of three Torontonians, in three separate incidents – Reyal Jardine-Douglas, Sylvia Klibingaitis, and Michael Eligon (colloquially referred to as the “JKE Inquest”). This report contains 74 recommendations for change from the Coroner’s Jury. The second report, Police Encounters with People in Crisis, was the result of a request from former Toronto Chief of Police Bill Blair for an independent review into police use-of-force when dealing with people living with mental illness. This review was conducted by the Honourable Frank Iacobucci, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. The report contains a further 84 recommendations for change, although many can be viewed as duplicates from the JKE inquest. In November 2014, Superintendent Daryl Wiebe began a review process within the VPD, with an eye to applying the Ontario-based recommendations in the VPD, wherever appropriate. The objective was to critically analyse current practices and identify areas of improvement within the VPD, including local department practices, changes to policies and procedures, and training implications. The local review concluded in early 2015, and nine recommendations for change were made to VPD processes and training curricula, and outlined in a Report to the Vancouver Police Board on 2015-07-16 (Report No. 1507V01). DISCUSSION: All of the recommendations for change were implemented in late 2015 and work has continued on them into 2016. Following is an update on the status of each recommendation: Recommendation 1: That the VPD develop a policy document, in consultation with mental health professionals, that openly articulates the organization’s commitment to dealing with persons living with mental illness in the least intrusive manner, focussing on de-escalation techniques when dealing with persons in crisis, and the desired outcome of a resolution without the need to use force. The VPD has developed a Mental Health Strategy, which provides an overarching approach relative to police interactions with persons living with mental illness. It is intended to account for the significant impact associated to the police coming into contact with persons living with mental illness and sets forth a framework on how the VPD models its interaction with this segment of the population. Further, it acknowledges that most mental health related calls to the police involve persons with concurrent disorders – a mental illness and substance abuse problems. The VPD Mental Health Strategy is framed around the core values of the VPD, and the principles of justification, proportionality and intrusiveness. It is designed to provide clear and concise information about the VPD’s position and intent, and to serve as a framework to support 3 operational deployment, organizational partnerships, education and training initiatives, and a commitment to the community relative to its interactions with persons living with mental illness. Further, the VPD Mental Health Strategy was not developed in isolation. Extensive consultation occurred with partners in the mental health community, academia, law and the City of Vancouver. In addition, consultation sessions were held with the Persons with Lived Experience Committee; an advisory committee to the Mayor’s Task Force on Mental Health and Addictions in an effort to include their perspectives on this jointly-shared social challenge. The VPD Mental Health Strategy is complete and was endorsed by the Vancouver Police Board on 2016-06-16. We are finalizing an internal document in support of the Strategy, and it will be publicly available in late-July. Recommendation 2: That the VPD Planning, Research and Audit Section develop an internal process that guarantees annual review of policies and procedures identified as ‘high risk’ on a proactive basis, and based on a pre-determined schedule. The Planning, Research and Audit Section have developed internal audit processes to schedule periodic reviews of all policies and procedures identified as ‘high risk’. This includes all policies and procedures associated to persons living with mental illness, youth, serious criminal investigations, and police use of force. While these scheduled periodic reviews will ensure current and best practices, more frequent procedural reviews may also occur as a result of legislative changes, new case law, or other external drivers that may ordinarily result in updates and changes to policies and procedures. Recommendation 3: That the VPD provide additional mental health training, and specifically the MHCC program, “Mental Health First Aid”, to police officers who are more likely to come into contact with persons living with mental illness. This training should also be provided to members who fill a leadership role in mentoring and developing other officers, including front-line Patrol supervisors and recruit field trainers. The VPD provided the MHCC program “Mental Health First Aid” to police officers