Waterloo Regional Police officers will begin mandatory de-escalation training next year when dealing with those experiencing a mental health or substance use crisis.

The Mental Health Crisis Response Education and Applied Training program, developed by a group including Wilfrid Laurier University researcher Jennifer Lavoie, was mandated by the province under the Community and Policing Safety Act, 2019.

The program is a result of eight years of research and design to help police officers identify and respond to mental health crises by improving de-escalation practices to reduce reliance on the use of force.

Cherri Greeno, Waterloo Regional Police’s director of corporate affairs, said the service will integrate the program into existing de-escalation and mental health training in 2026.

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