Halifax police budget mostly panned during 2nd public consultation
“Natasha Hines, a board member of Wellness Within — a non-profit organization that works for reproductive justice, prison abolition, and health equity — said adding more officers who are trained to respond to mental health calls goes against a recommendation made in Halifax's Defunding the Police report.
That report recommended diverting most crisis calls to non-police-involved teams.
"Folks do not need an increasingly militarized police force responding to mental health distress, substance-use disorder and gender-based violence," Hines said.
"Police presence has been shown to add violence to what can already be violent situations. These folks need care, they may need medical attention and police are not the right response here.""