Mental Health

The Ottawa Police Service (OPS) is committed to helping individuals experiencing mental health or substance use crises. We work with health professionals and community partners to ensure that the right support is provided based on safety, risk level, and individual needs.

To improve crisis response, OPS uses both police-led and community-led approaches.

Police- Led Response

The Mental Health Crisis Unit

This specialized support unit of the Community Safety and Wellbeing Branch reviews and triages all mental health/crisis calls to determine appropriate follow-up. This section of specially trained officers responds with our Mobile Crisis Team partners, of the Ottawa Hospital, to conduct joint follow-up responses to those in crisis. MHCU officers provide support, guidance and training to internal units, external community groups and work closely with area hospitals. They participate, support, and supervise the following programs:

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)

CIT officers are frontline police members with specialized training. They respond to calls involving mental health or substance use concerns.

Their training includes:

Crisis recognition and response
De-escalation techniques
Trauma-informed and culturally sensitive approaches

CIT officers respond to calls in their area, support other police members, and help connect individuals to services.

Mobile Crisis Response Team (MCRT)

The Mobile Crisis Response Team pairs a CIT-trained OPS officer with a mental health clinician from The Ottawa Hospital's Mobile Crisis Team (MCT). They respond together when a crisis may involve safety risks, and both police and clinical care are needed.

They provide:

assessment on scene
de-escalation support
referral to follow-up services

Additional information:

available across the city during weekday shifts
deployed through 9-1-1, non-emergency dispatch, or when requested by OPS members
travel in an unmarked or subdued-marked vehicle
the police officer wears an OPS Mental Health Unit uniform
the clinician wears protective gear with hospital identification

Community-Led Response

ANCHOR (Alternate Neighbourhood Crisis Response)

ANCHOR is a community-led crisis response service that supports individuals experiencing a non-violent mental health or substance use crisis without police involvement.

available 24/7 in the Centretown service area
(Boundaries updated November 13, 2025 – Ottawa River to the north, Rideau Canal to the east, Carling Avenue/Hwy 417 to the south, Island Park Drive to the west)
focuses on de-escalation and voluntary engagement
uses a trauma-informed and culturally responsive approach
connects individuals to follow-up care and community supports
accessed by calling 2-1-1, and may be redirected from 9-1-1 if appropriate
may request police support if the situation becomes unsafe

When to Call

Call 9-1-1 if someone is in danger or if there is a safety concern
Call 2-1-1 if the situation is a non-violent mental health or substance use crisis within the Centretown service area
Call Police Non-Emergency (613-236-1222) if support is needed, but the situation is not urgent

Both OPS and community teams may redirect a call to ensure the most appropriate support is provided.

If you or someone you know is in a life-threatening crisis or emergency, please call 9-1-1.

For non-urgent questions, email mentalhealth@ottawapolice.ca.

External Resources: