The Chatham-Kent Police Service's Mobile Crisis Team had to deal with a huge amount of mental health calls last year.
Police said mental health calls jumped by 507 from 1,180 in 2022 to 1,687 last year and people apprehended under the Mental Health Act went from 53 to 67 during the same time period. Community mental health assessments done by the team also increased by 29 to 133.
The team is made up of a plain-clothes officer and a psychiatric nurse and together they also executed 35 Mental Health Act forms ordered by psychiatrists, doctors, and Justices of the Peace last year. That's an increase of 16 from 2022. The orders could be for assessments, examinations, community treatment, or returning the person to a psychiatric facility, even if they don't want to go back.
Meanwhile, the Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) had another very busy year in 2023.
Chatham-Kent police reported the team made up of 13 officers was used 263 times last year, a 20.6 per cent increase compared to the 218 incidents in 2022.
Police noted the CIRT team executed 24 high-risk warrants in Chatham-Kent in 2023 compared to 15 the previous year, a 140 per cent increase and the highest amount in five years.
The team also helped other policing services and was part of a huge provincial drug bust initiative that resulted in several arrests, along with the significant seizure of drugs, weapons, and stolen vehicles.
Search and rescue calls last year also went up to 47 and weapons-related calls increased to 122, all the highest numbers in five years for the CIRT officers.