ELECTIONS NOT WHAT THEY WERE
page
3
THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET LOUD
page
6
WELFARE TURNED ON ITS HEAD
page
8
FRIDAY
MAY 3 2013 www.burnabynewsleader.com
BC Conservatives take a surprising position on marijuana. See Page A17
Phoned threat empties mall Bomb sniffer dogs sent; nothing found Wanda Chow wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
WANDA CHOW/NEWSLEADER
Burnaby RCMP Const. James Grandy and Gindy Bir of Burnaby Mental Health have teamed up for a fresh approach to addressing policing calls involving people with mental health issues.
New approach to mental health calls Calls from 10 most prolific cases drop 85 per cent Wanda Chow
wchow@burnabynewsleader.com
For years, the residents of an apartment building have been terrorized by one of their own, an owner of one of the units with obvious mental health issues. The man has caused repeated noise disturbances in his suite, from bashing his walls and destroying his belongings4x1.25_book_drive_ad_final.pdf to yelling and screaming. Neighbours have complained to
police and other agencies numerous times, to no avail. He’d even be charged with offences but then released. “Nothing was ever really getting accomplished,” said Burnaby RCMP Const. James Grandy. That is, until the file came under the purview of a new Burnaby RCMP effort to deal with calls involving mental health issues. Since January 2012, Grandy has been designated the detachment’s mental health intervention coordinator. volunteered to PM create the 1He 12-03-05 1:20 program after seeing how Burnaby
RCMP receives more than 1,400 calls a year involving people with mental health issues and yet, police are limited in what they can do with such cases. Unless a person is deemed a threat to themselves or a threat to someone else, police can’t force them to undergo a psychiatric assessment under the Mental Health Act if they’re not willing, explained Burnaby RCMP media liaison Cpl. Dave Reid. And police, simply put, are not trained to treat mental illnesses. It appears the solution through
this program—which they stress is still an evolving work in progress— is for police to actively partner with Fraser Health through its Burnaby Mental Health and Substance Use Services division. Gindy Bir, a registered psychiatric nurse with Burnaby Mental Health, worked with Grandy to create a model whereby the two were in constant communication. He would refer cases to her department, and she’d give him a heads up when a client had the potential to cause problems on the policing front. Please see ‘SILOS ARE DISAPPEARING’, A4
YOUR LOCAL AGENT
BOOK YOUR BOTTLE DRIVE
BRiAN VidAs 604.671.5259
2009 - 2012
Brian Vidas Personal Real Estate Corporation 3010 Boundary Road, Burnaby POP
www.BrianVidas.com
centre realty
2 Bed, 2 Bath Rooftop Patio Townhome $435,000 4 Bed, 2 Bath 3-Level, Reno’d Burnaby Home $635,000
Brentwood Town Centre shopping mall was evacuated Tuesday afternoon after mall security received a veiled threat by phone. “There was an anonymous caller to the mall at 12:30 p.m. to mall security who said he left something in the mall and they should evacuate it,” said Burnaby RCMP Cpl. Dave Reid. The caller said he left something in the east and west wings of the mall before hanging up. The decision was made to evacuate the shopping centre about 1:30 p.m. to allow police to conduct a search with the help of a dog trained in sniffing out explosives, Reid said. Around 3:50 p.m. Burnaby RCMP tweeted that they had “completed their search of Brentwood Mall & have confirmed there is no further concern—all safe.” Metropolis at Metrotown’s food fair area was evacuated briefly April 19 after police received a report of a suspicious package. Nothing of concern was found.