The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) announced today that all frontline officers will use a screening tool developed at the University of Waterloo to assess and describe mental health issues, allowing for improved transitions for persons with mental health issues from police custody to hospital care.
The Brief Mental Health Screener (BMHS) is a standardized, science-based assessment tool that will help officers respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis and increase their ability to interact effectively with mental health professionals at the hospital.
The BMHS differs from other forms currently in use by allowing police officers to measure and articulate symptoms in standardized clinical terms.
“This BMHS standardizes police observations and allows them to communicate in the language of the health care system. This will streamline the transition for persons with mental illness from police custody to mental health care provided by hospitals and community-based agencies,” said Ron Hoffman, who co-led development and testing of the tool as part of his doctoral dissertation. Hoffman is currently the Advanced Patrol, Coach Officer & Mental Health Training Coordinator for the Ontario Police College.
The tool is the result of a collaboration between the OPP and Waterloo researchers working with interRAI, an international organization committed to improving care for vulnerable populations with complex needs, including persons with mental illness. It is based on the interRAI Mental Health Assessment system already used with all patients admitted to an Ontario hospital for inpatient psychiatric care.
“The BMHS will help to improve the collaboration between police officers and mental health professionals in a way that will directly benefit persons with mental health needs,” said John Hirdes, a professor in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences and Chair of the interRAI Network of Excellence in Mental Health.
Over the coming months OPP Detachment Commanders will be seeking partnerships with Ontario hospitals to implement use of the BMHS as part of day-to-day practice.
The development and planned implementation of this new tool was announced at a news conference by OPP Commissioner J.V.N. (Vince) Hawkes along with professor John Hirdes and Ms. Camille Quenneville, Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Mental Health Association, Ontario Division.
