Police finalizing policy for homeless camps

Waterloo Regional Police are finalizing plans to deal with some of the region’s most vulnerable including those in homeless encampments.

Chief Bryan Larkin said police want a process in place so response to complaints about homeless encampments is consistent and property owners know what to expect.

“But our focus, our fundamental focus in all of this is around supporting vulnerable people, engaging with vulnerable people and actually getting them the help they need,” Larkin said.

The issue of homeless encampments came to the fore late last year. Residents across the region were shocked by the show of force by Region of Waterloo at a Charles Street encampment, using heavy machinery to clear debris. Police were at the scene.

At a Waterloo Regional Police Services Board meeting Wednesday, Insp. Beth Houston said there are two arms of the community engagement and well-being division.

One deals with hard crime and intelligence while the other deals more with social challenges such as homelessness and complex mental-health calls.

“One of the biggest questions and one of the most important questions we bring into any situation is who else can help?” Houston said of the community engagement team.

Details on what operational policies to deal with such calls will look like are expected to be considered by the board in March.

Larkin said there are several goals. “We want to take a holistic approach so that regardless of where you are in the region the police response will be the same,” he said.

“Naturally, not one size fits all. But again, our position around encampments most recently has always been, if you kick one person from one doorway to the next doorway, you’re not solving the problem, so how do we get to that underlying current.”

The hope is to deal with the most vulnerable, including those who suffer homelessness, mental health and addiction issues and other complex social issues, through diversion, referrals, relationshipbuilding and enforcement.

The community engagement unit is staffed by two sergeants and 18 uniformed constables, all working day shifts. Split into two platoons, they’re charged with implementing strategies for dealing with the homeless and encampments, mental health and youth engagement.

They work during the day to better connect with other social services and supports in the community. Operations started summer 2021.

Part of the unit will be the creation of a crisis call diversion program that will see the 911 dispatch centre staffed with a mental-health expert to help triage calls that can be referred to other agencies.

Larkin is lobbying for upper level government funding for triage posts. He said police hope to divert 20 per cent of those calls in 2022.

The community unit is expected to work in tandem with the police direct action response team (DART). Staffed by two sergeants and 20 uniformed constables on day and afternoon shifts, its role is to create a visible police presence in high-priority neighbourhoods.

The goal is to reduce long-term demands on officers through intelligence, crime prevention and enforcement.

Priorities for DART include community enforcement in high-risk areas, violent crime, major special events, including protests, monitoring high-risk and repeat offenders and support for neighbourhood policing.

If you kick one person from one doorway to the next doorway, you’re not solving the problem, so how do we get to that underlying current. WATERLOO REGION CHIEF OF POLICE BRYAN LARKIN