Note
Authors affiliated with:
Biostatistical Support Unit, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics,
Western University;
Centre for Research on Inner City Health, St. Michael’s Hospital and Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto.
Caption title.
Summary
"When the process of de-institutionalization was announced in 1999, the London Police Service collaborated with researchers from the University of Western Ontario, the London Health Sciences Centre, and key community-based service providers to track and explore unintended consequences of de-institutionalization from the perspective of contact between the police and PMI. The premise of this project was that a lack of community-based services for people with mental illness places an increased demand upon police whose powers are based within two legal principles: 1. the police power function – to ensure the safety and welfare of the public, and 2. parens patriae, which involves protection of disabled citizens. Application of these principles is not intended to be therapeutic and therein lies the inherent problem of increased contact between the police and persons with mental illness."--page 2.