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Policing cannot be a blanket solution to every health and safety problem

I'd like to echo all the calls from others to defund the police and grant higher budgets to social programs, as well as policies that could re-allocate the work police do to other experts that are better suited to the task. Right now the police cover an impossibly wide range of situations in the city without the training to back it up. A call to check in one someone's mental health is not the same as a call about a break-in and should not be treated as such.

I have worked with organisations that focus on police well-being, and have witnessed interviews with police officers on the subject of the stress they carry from the work that they do. It takes a huge toll on them as well to deal with such a variety of conflicts, especially ones they are not equipped to deal with. I believe we need to focus less on police spending and more on funding for experts in areas like mental health and addiction, not to mention for programs involving education, food, and housing, and other ways Ottawa can foster a safer and healthier community without a one-size-fits-all police solution.

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