They've Got The Crazy

Good article on the effect of cuts to mental health services on policing in Vancouver. Mental health problems were a contributing factor in 42% of police service calls in the downtown eastside over the course of the study. At least they have Tasers to keep the crazies in line.

The cost of this is enormous, Wilson-Bates said, and she calculated that almost 154,000 police hours would be required to deal with such cases annually, or the equivalent of 90 front-line officers working full time. The direct wage cost for those officers would be $9 million, but that does not include ambulance, hospital or court costs, or costs related to stolen property or lost productivity.