A large issue in facilitating this transition however is that many of the services outlined rely on police protection in order for them to do their jobs safely. Especially for those working in EMS or social work, many of their calls involve entering potentially dangerous situations. This is a fact that was made very clear to me when I listened to a city council meeting on this topic in my hometown (N. American, 1 million population). The Police Chief explained that some 31,000 calls for assistance were made last year by community support centers asking for police assistance in some manner, and an additional 34,000 were made by EMS as well. On average, our police force was receiving a call for help every 3 minutes, 24/7, all year round; of these, 30% were mental health-related. However, of this portion, first responders explained it was often very difficult to tell what calls will ultimately be related to a mental health issue, instead of something else.

My point is this: shifting our focus towards community initiatives and a ‘support’ rather than ‘enforce’ mentality towards order is essential, yet, very difficult if not done in the right order. We have to accept that while pilot programmes and tests are being done, we need a police force to help support the very people who we hope are destined to begin phasing them out. We cannot expect people trained in social work and providing medical aid to then also be responsible for protecting their own lives and the lives of their colleagues as well.