More police officers in Calgary ‘band-aid’ solution to mental health crisis: expert

The Alberta government announced plans to increase safety with more police for Calgary and Edmonton, but an expert says it’s a “band-aid” solution to an increasing mental health issue.

The province says it will hire 100 more police officers that will be split between the two major cities, while the City of Calgary is providing security and other measures for Calgary Transit stations.

Both initiatives come as the city has seen increased violence at Calgary Transit stations.

However, Dr. Kaylie Rodriguez, a registered psychologist in Calgary, says the addition of more officers and security doesn’t address the issue beneath the surface.

“It’s like crisis management at this point, where police presence is necessary … to control and to provide an element of safety, but it’s a band-aid solution where it doesn’t address what’s underneath that,” Rodriguez told CityNews.

“Some of these violent outbursts and some of these things that are happening perhaps are things that are, I think, reflective of the severity of mental health issues happening.”

She says resources funded towards mental health could make a difference in early detection and treatment.

“If somebody is at a breaking point that they reach out and then they are told they need to wait for months to get into talking to somebody,” she said.

“It’s shattering, and that window of opportunity can be lost, and a person goes down into a hopeless, helpless cycling spiral.”

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She says there’s been a lot of demand for psychiatric assistance in the public and private sectors recently.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez says improving access to mental health services and support is one factor but addressing substance abuse is another.

“Addiction, mental health, they go hand in hand,” Rodriguez explained. “I feel that a lot of symptoms of addiction are often overlooked. So symptoms of addiction don’t necessarily always reflect that a person is intoxicated or [experiencing] withdrawal. It’s a brain disease.”

She says it’s important to pay attention to sudden changes in sleep patterns and appetite, whether overeating or undereating,

Rodriguez also says to watch for memory and concentration difficulties as well as anxiety, constant crying and numbness, and to always reach out for help.

“So, if we can learn these things and identify these things on the front end, it would be so beneficial to prevent or at least minimize or mitigate all of these extreme examples that are catching our attention,” she said.

“We need to take action before it’s too late.”

The province says it will develop a plan to hire the 100 police officers over the next 18 months.