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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, September 26, 2014 | 12 COMMANDE refined to offer co-ordinated response continued from p.1 Hub), Waterloo, Sudbury, Peel and Brantford. "The majority of police time is spent on noncriminal, non-enforcement response to social disorder, addiction-based problems, mental health, etc.," said Halton police Supt. Nishan Duraiappah, who started the project in Milton and is now rolling it out across Halton. The existing program is now overseen by Milton police Insp. Roger Wilkie. A driving force behind the pilot was Halton Deputy Police Chief Andrew Fletcher, who is also the chair of the Ontario Working Group on Collaborative, Risk-Driven Community Safety. "The benefit for police or other emergency services is that instead of constant police response the right agencies become involved to solve problems, therefore reducing police demand," Duraiappah said. He noted the partnership brings together representatives from a variety of sectors -- health, addiction treatment, youth, emergency services, non-profit social services, housing, municipalities -- to meet regularly to provide real-time, co-ordinated responses to situations involving at-risk people and places. "This is different to the age-old system of each agency responding individually to a person at risk, on their own, repeatedly, while other agencies are doing the same," he added. "The results are that these people get the help they need right away, therefore stopping them from further harm or unnecessary contact with other agencies or services." Halton police's current partners at the table in the program include the John Howard Society, Halton Housing, Halton Public Health, Reach Out Centre for Kids (ROCK), ADAPT, the Town of Milton, Halton EMS, the Canadian Mental Health Association and many other agencies that are available by phone. Representatives of the partner agencies meet bi-weekly, usually at a Halton police station, but commit to helping any situation within 24-48 hours regardless of when they meet, said Duraiappah. "It is only one tool in the toolbox for community safety, by no means the panacea -- but it is a great collaborative, one that has not functioned at this level and structure before." Duraiappah said the agencies involved literally sit at a situation table. Pressing issues are discussed about people at risk. No names or addresses, anything to identify the at-risk individual, are mentioned, in order to meet federal and provincial privacy legislation. "... the appropriate agencies that can assist step forward and take on an intervention of sorts. Practically, someone from the appropriate agency will contact the person and, with their consent, provide assistance to the root issues," he said. Duraiappah said many situations for possible intervention by the group have been brought to er agencies were able to provide addiction-based counseling, transition to work counseling and other support," he noted. He said that in the past six months there have been no police contacts with the individual, that the person has found employment and is maintaining their addiction treatment. The COMMANDE project was discussed at the Sept. 18 Halton police services board meeting. The board's chair, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, likes the program but qualified what he sees as its intent. Referring to the words of Dale McFee, Saskatchewan's deputy minister of justice (corrections and policing) who initiated the project in the city of Prince Albert in 2010, Burton said, "Community safety isn't just about catching criminals, but about saving people. "(But) I don't want the media to think we are being soft on crime," Burton said of Halton's COMMANDE program. He said there are people who should be locked up and others who need help to avoid becoming a criminal. "We're not Prince Albert. We (Halton) are one of the safest communities in the world. We develop our own approach to things," said Burton. At the board meeting, Halton Police Chief Stephen Tanner said his officers will always intervene when there is a person in crisis but that police may not be the entity to best deal with their long-term problems. Supt. Nishan Duraiappah the COMMANDE table in Milton with 41 cases accepted. As an example of what Duraiappah considers one of its success stories, he said that over the period of a year Halton police had more than 20 interactions with a woman, who had addiction and mental health problems. It resulted in repeated calls to police for medical help, public disturbances, neighbour disputes and trespassing issues. "Officers had frequent contact with this individual; so did other social service agencies. When brought to COMMANDE by police, oth- 10 years of travel, well remembered. Let's make it 10 more.