The need for more mental health supports was an issue raised at the latest Drayton Valley town council meeting.
Drayton Valley RCMP Staff Sergeant Erin Matthews stopped by town council’s meeting on Nov. 24 to deliver the monthly crime statistics.
Matthews reports there has been a 24 per cent decrease in Criminal Code offences from January through October of 2021, when compared to the same time period in 2020.
However, there has been some increases in specific crimes in just the month of October.
Motor vehicle thefts have been on the rise. In Oct. 2020, Drayton Valley only had four motor vehicle thefts. In Oct. 2021, there were 16.
“Five of those were attempted thefts,” elaborated Matthews. “One was a trailer, one is still outstanding, and the rest of the vehicles have been recovered in various locations.”
Matthews went on to emphasize they are working on ways to bring that under control.
Trespassing complaints were also on the rise, according to Matthews.
“It was getting colder in October, so we had people sleeping in vestibules, banks, stairwells, that sort of thing,” she explained.
Councillor Tom McGee asked about how dispatch works when someone calls 911. McGee was expressing concern about the rise in mental health calls. He had also just seen a report on television about mental health triage, and wondered what form of triage happens when someone dials 911.
Matthews explained there is no triage, and that while her members are trained to respond to mental health calls, they are not mental health experts.
“I do not believe that we have enough support services in the Town of Drayton Valley in order to be able to effectively triage,” said Matthews.
Matthews added that this is why she is pushing to bring a Police and Crisis Team (PAC Team) to the Drayton Valley region. A PAC Team is when a mental health professional accompanies a police officer on a mental health call, to ensure that people are properly directed to the help they need.
According to Matthews, there is already a PAC Team in place, but they are stationed in Rocky Mountain House. They cover such a massive area that it is difficult to call them in. Matthews’ hope is to have a PAC Team stationed in Drayton Valley, to be shared between the Drayton, Breton, Thorsby, and Evansburg detachments.
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