The emergence of crisis responder programs is a result of the convergence of several separate but related institutional trajectories. Four key institutions – emergency paramedicine, social work, mental healthcare, and policing have all in one way or another come to acknowledge that there is a need for better behavioural crisis support, and at the same time, acknowledge that existing
service configurations are insufficient to take on the challenge. Concurrently, developments in a fifth institution – emergency and non-emergency call centres, such as 911, 811, 211 and 988 hotlines – have also been naturally drawn into the efforts to establish better institutional responses to crises; and, perhaps surprisingly, many of the larger-scale new crisis responder services have emerged within a sixth institution – fire departments.
Each of these institutions is likely to continue to lay claim to part of the future operational landscape for crisis response services. In addition, a wide array of community organizations has also become implicated in this landscape as service providers (e.g., through a contract with a municipality, province, or state) or community partners. These community organizations may include inter alia community health clinics, peer support services (e.g., outreach and navigation for those suffering from homelessness or addictions), and temporary or longer-term shelter services. In some instances, a community organization may be founded primarily to provide crisis response services, while in others the organization may be adding crisis response services to its existing portfolio.
In this sense, crisis response (as a broader institution) is a child of many parents (multiple other institutions that were in one way or another instrumental in its emergence). Each parent sees a future for its child that may differ drastically, or align substantially, with the future(s) seen by other parents. At different points in this child’s development, it may look to one parent or another for guidance, and favour or reject different parents at different times. Sooner or later, it will want to assert its independence.
Bio statement:
Chris is a criminologist and social policy researcher with over a fifteen years of experience conducting research in Canada, the US, the UK, and the European Union. His academic research has focused on the organization, governance, and reform of public police in democratic societies, and he also conducts social policy and evaluation research on a wide range of topics including criminal justice and security, harm reduction, health and social care, and social finance. Chris is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Director of the Clairmont Centre for Community Safety Research at Dalhousie University, where he is leading a two-year SSHRC-funded research project examining governance and legitimacy in civilian-led crisis response services, among other projects.
Alongside his work at Dalhousie, Chris is a scientific advisor at Pier Labs, a non-profit social innovation outpost based in Halifax. Prior to working with Pier Labs, Chris was the research coordinator for the Halifax Regional Police, and before that he led the policing research portfolio as a senior analyst at the RAND Corporation’s European offices.
