Saint John police to stop responding to medical calls under pilot project

Police in Saint John, N.B., say they will soon stop responding to medical calls as part of a one-year pilot project.

The Saint John Police Force currently responds to medical calls in the city, along with ambulance and fire crews.

Police say the approach results in the “overlapping of responses from multiple entities, diversion of police resources away from core policing responsibilities, and inefficiencies.”

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Under the new one-year pilot project, police will only respond to medical calls during specific conditions – a change that was made following discussions with other first responders in the city.

“I believe (the pilot project) would be a success if we look at a year's worth of data and see that the policing resources are directed to other calls for services where they are required, and that there are no issues from the other organizations,” said Saint John Police Staff Sgt. Matthew Weir.

Police say, moving forward, they will now consider their proximity to the incident, any suspected criminal activity, and the presence of a violent individual.

“When we do get first to a call, it's because the officer happened to be in the area conducting an investigation or just patrolling the area, and they were closest to the person in distress,” said Weir.

“That's that proximity piece where the officer will respond, provide aid and additional updates to the EMS and fire who are coming, and quite often, they're better equipped to deal with those medical emergencies.”

Saint John Fire Chief Rob Nichol says fire crews are often the first to arrive for medical calls.

He says he doesn’t expect the change to impact resident calls for a medical assist.

“It's important to have police there for where they can make a difference. But if there's times where ambulance and fire can provide the NARCAN or the medical assistance, then it makes sense to free up police resources for policing,” said Nichol.

Nichol’s adds he’ll be receiving regular updates on how the pilot project is progressing and speak up if any response concerns arise.

“It's interesting that there is the trial and the quarterly reporting, so we'll be able to have some feedback and say in how that goes and adjust accordingly,” he said.

The changes take effect Feb. 1, 2025.

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