The outcome of the investigation into Burnaby RCMP Const. Shaelyn Yang’s death may have an impact on how first responders respond to calls about homelessness and mental health.
While responding to a call to a homeless man’s tent in a Burnaby park on Tuesday, Yang was fatally stabbed. Her accused killer, Jongwon Ham, remains in hospital with gunshot wounds.
Former B. C. official Kash Heed
The death, according to the former West Vancouver police chief and attorney general, raises issues that officers across the province are currently considering.
“The conversations are taking place in policing right now, they’re conversing on how they’re going to respond to these incidents to ensure that officer safety is paramount in dealing with these people,” he said.
Second, a management assessment of what happened here will be conducted by the police department, the RCMP.
Based on years of experience dealing with rising homelessness and mental health crises, Vancouver police claim that safety measures and training are already in place for dealing with potentially dangerous scenarios.
Sgt., a police spokeswoman in Vancouver
According to Steve Addison, although addiction, homelessness, and mental health conditions are not crimes, their intricate interactions frequently result in safety concerns.
“It’s a concern for us, the VPD, we have lots of experience dealing with encampments … and we take precautions as we’re responding to incidents,” Vancouver police spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison said.
“We take precautions to lessen the volatility because we are aware that there is a higher risk to our officers and that there is a volatile environment within the encampments. ”
In the wake of Yang’s passing, Addison declared that “nothing will change” for the VPD and that officers will still answer calls as needed.
But Yang’s death specifically aside, there have been changes in the way calls to homeless campers are handled in the city.
According to the president of the organization that represents park rangers, members have ceased accessing unresponsive tents without assistance from police for some time.
According to Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services, recent policy changes were made in response to rising threats.
The overdose outreach team and the fire prevention squads, according to VFRS public information officer Capt. Matthew Trudeau, have occasionally encountered antagonism and even firearms.
A crew member was nearly attacked with a machete inside a facility not too long ago, he said. “These are violent attacks and highly serious, and these instances underline the extra need for measures and situational awareness.”
Where we would respond with one inspector now we’ll have two or three inspectors to specific places just for increase of safety in numbers and having more eyes open. “Our numbers of inspectors who walk into a building has grown merely because of safety.
“According to Trudeau, firefighters in the Downtown Eastside are now frequently escorted by police in order to manage traffic and protect their own safety.
These adjustments, according to Trudeau, were made in reaction to a sign of the city’s increasing frequency of mental health crises. It will be crucial, he continued, to address the fundamental cause with more thorough mental health care facilities.
Heed agreed, saying the state should consider reinstating the mental health facility in Riverview that his BC Liberal administration shut down in 2012.
“We need a facility where we can institutionalize these folks who have such significant mental health problems. … to explore how a contemporary Riverview would appear,” he remarked.
“We need to do a full assessment on what’s out there and what we need to do it, and part of that is putting people in a facility where they are going to get the assistance they need — not just a 30-, 60- or 90-day facility. We’re looking at a continuum of care for folks who suffer from the serious mental health problems that, sadly, caused this officer’s death and the behaviour it caused.
Will an RCMP constable’s passing lead to a shift in how the homeless are treated in British Columbia?
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