Kelowna mayor Colin Basran has released his comments after the RCMP害羞草研究所檚 Southeast District held a news conference early on Thursday, July 2.
Mayor Basran said he still has concerns about the disturbing incident, but said it害羞草研究所檚 a good thing that an external police force will review the investigation into the rough detention of UBCO student Mona Wang.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 also a good thing that Ms. Wang will be provided with the findings of the internal process and if she has concerns with the findings, she can have it reviewed by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP,害羞草研究所� Basran said in his statement.
害羞草研究所淲e害羞草研究所檒l see what the investigative process determines and have more to say when that is concluded.害羞草研究所�
Basran added he and city manager Doug Gilchrist will be meeting with Interior Health next week to talk about the increasing numbers of calls for assistance on mental health incidents and how best to proceed in the future.
害羞草研究所淗owever, a new approach is going to take all levels of government and social agencies working together to address mental illness and addictions.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淭he City of Kelowna is an active participant in this effort and we will continue to do whatever we can within our powers to find solutions,害羞草研究所� he said.
害羞草研究所淭he real issue here is the need to re-think our systems, how they are funded and are coordinated to provide the most effective response to the increasing and increasingly complex mental health needs in communities.害羞草研究所�
Basran said last year, the Kelowna detachment害羞草研究所檚 officers responded to 3,561 mental health-related calls that resulted in 588 apprehensions under the Mental Health Act. Echoing what Supt. Brad Haugli said, mental health-related calls are up 21 per cent throughout the RCMP害羞草研究所檚 Southeast District in the past four years, with a further increase this year.
害羞草研究所淧olice perform a difficult and critical job in our community every day. While recent events are disturbing, we need to take this and other recent incidents as a moment to reconsider how we are funding and approaching these situations and take actions to find a better way to address them.害羞草研究所�
READ: RCMP brass addresses concerns over recent actions of police in the Southeast District
READ: Rough wellness check upsetting: Kelowna mayor
