A specialized team of police officers and health workers has responded to 116 calls in Brandon, Manitoba, since it began operating on October 20, 2025 (116 calls as of mid‑January 2026). The group is designed to help people experiencing mental health emergencies or wellness checks by providing immediate support and clinical assessments on scene.
The unit pairs a Brandon Police Service (BPS) officer with a Prairie Mountain Health (PMH) mental-health clinician (a psychiatric nurse) and is staffed as a joint BPS–PMH initiative. It operates 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week, to handle situations that do not always require a standard patrol response.
Before this program started, officers often spent long periods waiting with patients in emergency departments — averaging roughly 6–10 hours under the Mental Health Act — tying up patrol resources. By having a mental-health clinician available to assess and provide care where people are, the unit can reduce unnecessary trips to hospital emergency rooms.
On January 16, 2026, the Province of Manitoba announced it would provide $290,000 in ongoing annual funding to Prairie Mountain Health to support the Brandon PMH–BPS Collaborative Crisis Response Unit. The funding will help sustain a team that includes two full-time BPS officers, three full-time PMH mental-health clinicians, and peer support workers; local leaders say the change ensures people get medical attention from health experts while freeing up other officers for priority emergency calls.
