New police Vulnerable Persons Registry raises concerns

Toronto is developing a voluntary "vulnerable persons registry," which would collect photographs, information and perhaps even the likes and dislikes of people with autism, dementia, or other conditions which might make them behave unpredictably if they come in contact with the police. 

Participation in the program would be voluntary, with information to be submitted by the individual, or family caretakers.

The concept has been tried in a number of jurisdictions across Ontario, but in the aftermath of the Sammy Yatim shooting is seen as a new approach for Canada's largest city.

Anita Szigeti is the Mental Health Portfolio Chair for the Criminal Lawyers' Association, and she worries overall the move could do more harm than good.

She says people with mental illnesses should not have to provide such information, but even if they did it may not help. For many people, conditions change, so what is listed in a registry may not reflect what is happening when they reach a moment of crisis. And, she says, if police are expecting one thing, it can be hard to adapt if they encounter something completely different: "Sometimes, if you think you know something about the person, and you go into the crisis situation with that particular mind set, but it turns out that the particular situation is completely different from what you were expecting that'll set you back in terms of your ability to respond quickly."

I'm concerned that more information, if it's the wrong information, or if it's not applicable in the circumstances of the particular moment of crisis, could do more harm than good.- Anita Szigeti, lawyer

Szigeti also worries about privacy, because she says police information is sometimes shared and can go as far as American authorities.

Ultimately, she says it's pretty easy to use common sense when dealing with a person in crisis: don't yell, for example, or point a gun in their face. She'd like police to get better, and more frequent, training to prepare them to react in emergency mental health situations. 

The 180 contacted Toronto Police about this story. A spokesperson says they will launch the registry in a few weeks, but did not provide details.