I don’t want to appropriate the message of the Black Lives Matter movement at all. My heart breaks for George Floyd, his family, the thousands of black Americans who died at the hands of police before him, and their families.
I also want to acknowledge that I am a white person writing this post, and therefore continuously benefit from racist infrastructures and undertones in North American society, no matter how anti-oppressive I want my practice here to be. I do not want to speak for or over black people in North America or any other minority groups. This from the perspective of a white Canadian, Non-Binary mental health professional and social worker who has a background of education and experience in non-violent de-escalation practices. During this international conversation about police violence towards black Americans, there are white Canadians who will speak up to condemn America as though Canada doesn’t also have a problem, or even to directly suggest that Canada is better than the United States.
I want to remind people here in Canada that police brutality against minorities is not just an American problem, and to provide some perspectives and resources I’ve collected while learning and working in this field. Violence against racial minorities (particularly Canadian Indigenous Peoples), people with physical disabilities and mental health disorders (including substance abuse disorders), and members of the LGBT2QIA+ community (particularly trans folks), by white police and citizens alike too often go without punishment.
The Police are not the Only Option
One way that white people in Canada can help locally is to simply stop calling the police on minorities unless it is absolutely necessary. We have other options! Many Canadian cities, including Kelowna, have PACT teams made up of specially trained police and psychiatric nurses. If you need to file a police report but are not actively in danger, you can call your RCMP’s non-emergency number: in Vernon, you can call 250-545-7171. Kelowna’s non-emergency number is 250-762-3300, and also they have a list of non-emergency numbers for specific concerns that are not emergencies, like a “safety concern downtown” (which is 250-470-9058 by the way).
If you are in an emergency involving someone who is a member of a group that is often the target of police, whether or not they are the perpetrator of any crime, statistics suggest that they may be in danger if you call the police. In these cases, I suggest calling 911 only if you or others are in danger.
If you have assessed the situation and must call 911, I’ll let you in on some info you may not know if you’ve never had to call 911 before: you won’t hear, “911, what is your emergency,” like you might reasonably expect to based on TV and movies. Instead, you will hear, “Police, fire, or ambulance?” and they will direct the call. Paramedics are better able to deal with a situation involving substance abuse or mental health concerns than police. Ask for “ambulance,” and they can use their professional judgement to decide if the need to involve police. You can also ask if a PACT team is available, which is another resource you can use in Kelowna.
Safety Concerns, Crimes and Emergencies
Please understand the difference between safety concerns, crimes, and emergencies. 911 is overwhelmed throughout North America with non-emergency calls, and we obviously don’t want to involve the police in certain cases if it can be avoided. A safety concern, for example, is seeing a person running in and out of traffic, singing, and appearing to be in a state of euphoria while vehicles slow down to avoid them. This is a real incident that I personally witnessed very late at night in Kelowna, assessed as a safety concern involving substances, psychosis, or both, and decided to call 911 and ask for “ambulance.” The PACT team in Kelowna isn’t available in the middle of the night, or I would have asked for them.
A crime that is not an emergency could be, for example, an employee’s suspicion that they have received a counterfeit $20 bill. A crime, certainly (if the employee’s suspicion could be proven correct), but a minor, non-violent crime in which no one was in danger UNTIL the police arrived.
An emergency involves active danger to yourself or others. The way mental health professionals assess someone’s likelihood of harming themself or others involves the following 3 factors. I hope others can find this helpful in determining whether or not they are experiencing or witnessing an emergency:
Intent
In an emergency, someone has clear intent to harm themself or others. Verbal threats or acts of aggression/self-harm already conducted help to confirm intent. Intent without the other 2 factors may be a crime, but is not usually an emergency. This is true, even in the case of someone having already been physically aggressive to you. If they do not have the plan or means to carry out further harm, then you are left with a crime to report. In theory, this is not ongoing emergency requiring an emergency response to deescalate or squash ongoing violence.
Plan
If someone has a specific plan to harm themself or others, they are naturally more likely to carry it out. Someone threatening someone with an act of violence is different than someone who is generally angry. This can be the difference between someone who is saying that he is going to kill someone and someone who is annoyed that a dog owner has her dog off-leash against park regulations, for example. In cases of self-harm, this can be the difference between someone who generally no longer wants to exist and someone who has a specific plan to attempt suicide.
A plan without the other 2 factors is not usually an emergency. Someone who has thought about how they might kill someone but has no intent to actually do so is not likely to attempt murder. Someone who intends to harm themselves in a specific way but does not have access to the means of carrying out their plan are also lower risk.
Means
Finally, having the means to carry out a plan for violence is necessary. This is especially important in determining level of risk in a self-harm situation. People are typically more committed to their plan in these cases than someone who is acting out in aggression or out of anger. Regardless, it is still important when considering threats and aggression. If, for example, someone is threatening specific violence to someone they do not actually have direct access to, like a political figure, the risk of immediate violence is still low. This is not an emergency. Means without the other 2 factors is nothing at all. A knife is just a knife if no one has the intent to carry out harmful plans for it.
Emergencies will typically have all 3 factors present. This does not mean that any one factor should not be taken seriously. For example, many organizations offering mental health supports will have policies in place that refuse service to anyone that has a weapon on their person, regardless of intent or plan to use it on themself or others. An intent, a plan, and even the means to perpetrate violence can all be extremely serious issues that need to be addressed quickly, but are often not emergencies. If, for example, someone enters a store with a loaded firearm, points it an employee, and states that they will fire it if they are not given cash immediately, the employee is facing, at once, all 3 factors along with clear, immediate, ongoing danger to themself and others. This is an emergency.
Would that person holding the gun deserve a death sentence carried out by a police officer acting as judge, jury, and executioner? Absolutely not. I want to reiterate that this discussion of who to call and when is in no way condoning police brutality against anyone. I also want to reiterate that the gunman’s fate at the hands of police will statistically be determined by whether or not they are white, are of able body, and conforming to societal gender expectations. This statistical truth is just as true in Canada as it is in the United States.
These are my opinions based on my experience and research, and are in no way blaming someone who calls 911 in an emergency for the actions of police. The responsibility for murders committed by police rests on the shoulders of the perpetrators and the racist, oppressive systems that shape and protect them. I just want to arm as many people as possible with other resources when faced with both non-emergency and emergency situations going forward.
Those who are able to take part in protests, and who are often framed as “violent looters” for it, I commend you and hope that you can stay safe from both violence and COVID-19 as you stand together. For all of us, please remember your mental health during this time and get support when you need it. As I often do, I recommend calling or texting a Crisis Line to access a trained volunteer who is there to listen and/or provide more resources for you:
Phone (Interior only): 1-888-353-CARE (2273)
Text (Canada-wide): Text HOME to 686868
Non-emergency RCMP numbers:
Vernon – 250-545-7171
Kelowna – 250-762-3300