Police launch program to divert dementia-related domestic violence from courts
The Silver Guardian Program aims to connect people at risk with support services before an incident occurs.
BRIDGEWATER — Police services on Nova Scotia's South Shore have launched a new program to handle a rising number of domestic violence calls involving people with dementia, seeking alternatives to the justice system.
The RCMP and the Bridgewater Police Service started the collaborative Silver Guardian Program last week.
"Based on the past and previous years, we did see an increase and we need some tools to be able to handle those [calls] because I think it's with the aging population, obviously, I don't think it's going to go away," said Cpl. Dominic Laflamme with the Lunenburg County RCMP.
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The purpose of the program is to offer an alternative to the justice system for someone charged in relation to domestic violence who is suffering from diseases like Alzheimer's, he said.
Anyone in a relationship with someone with dementia who feels they might be at-risk of abuse can reach out to police before an incident happens and be connected to support services, Laflamme said.
Police have to lay charges if an assault has occurred even if it involves someone with a degenerative brain disease and their partner, Laflamme said, but they will ask Crown prosecutors not to pursue the charges and to find a resolution outside the courtroom.
"There's times criminal charges are not the answer. This is not necessarily going to help solve the problem," he said.
The program resulted from the RCMP reviewing its policies and practices after a man killed his wife before taking his own life in Mahone Bay last year.
When the Bridgewater Police Service noticed the aging demographic in their area, they decided to prepare for the changing needs of the community.
The Lunenburg County Seniors Safety Program is based at Bridgewater Police headquarters.
Staff for that program applied for federal funding for the Silver Guardian Project that is managed through the RCMP's vulnerable person unit after noticing a trend of domestic violence incidents.
"We do see a lot of incidents with people with dementia," said Danny MacPhee, deputy chief of Bridgewater Police Service.
"We're getting called to outbursts and situations that can become dangerous," he said.
Someone who does not have the capacity to understand the situation they are in or remember their loved one probably should not be sent to jail, MacPhee said.
Police officers need to consider the totality of the circumstances when responding to these types of calls, he said.
"It's not appropriate for us to, again, push somebody through the justice system when they need care," MacPhee said.
Cpl. Dominic Laflamme said domestic incidents involving someone suffering from dementia is outside the scope of RCMP's duty.
With files from CBC News