HRP’s Response to the Hyde Report

From HRPD:
Halifax Regional Police (HRP) has reviewed Judge Derrick’s Report of
the Fatality Inquiry into the Death of Howard Hyde.

We are pleased that Judge Derrick’s recommendations confirm we are
heading in the right direction regarding our approach to mental health.
This includes our in-house training regarding mental health; and the
Mental Health Mobile Crisis Team, a partnership between police, Capital
Health and the IWK Health Centre, which pairs a police officer with a
mental health clinician to provide a consistent, integrated response to
mental health crises in our community.

We recognize, however, that there is always room for improvement. As we
move forward, the themes from Judge Derrick’s report for Halifax
Regional Police to consider are our approach to persons with a mental
illness and related training, communication, note-taking and policy
review. We will be reviewing the recommendations in the context of what
Halifax Regional Police is doing now in these key areas and what we can
do to improve.

In considering Judge Derrick’s recommendations, we look forward to
working with the other agencies that also play a critical role in
improving the overall response to mental health in our community,
particularly as it pertains to mental health in the context of the
criminal justice system.