RCMP mark huge 2024 increase in Mental Health Act cases

By Mickey Dumont, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Fort Macleod RCMP recorded an 89 per cent increase in cases under the federal Mental Health Act in 2024 over 2023.

A five-year report submitted to MD of Willow Creek council reveals 149 cases in 2024 versus 79 in 2023.

“In your Fort Macleod statistics on the Mental Health Act, compared to 2022, 2023, and I looked at 2024, it went up to 149 versus 79 the year before,” Reeve Maryanne Sandberg noted.

Sgt. Christian Lafleur, who has command of the Fort Macleod RCMP detachment, said the Claresholm and Nanton detachments likely found the same thing since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There’s been an explosion of mental health issues,” Lafleur said. “Drugs are making it worse, but we’re a lot more in tune with mental health than we used to be.”

“We’re taking a lot of people to the hospital these days,” Lafleur said, adding Claresholm Sgt. Perry Pelletier and Nanton Sgt. David Davis had to deal with a situation earlier that morning. “So, it is up there, unfortunately.”

The Fort Macleod RCMP five-year Mental Health Act statistics show there were 90 cases in 2020, the year the COVID-19 pandemic took an unhealthy grip on the world.

There were 63 cases in 2021 and 70 in 2022.

The Claresholm RCMP five-year Mental Health Act statistics show there were 65 cases in 2020, 86 cases in 2021, 76 in 2022, 57 in 2023 and 79 in 2024 for a 39 per cent year-over-year increase and 22 per cent jump over the five-year reporting period.

The Nanton RCMP five-year Mental Health Act statistics show there were 26 cases in 2020, 25 cases in 2021, 75 in 2022, 31 in 2023 and 46 in 2024 for a 48 per cent year-over-year increase and 77 per cent jump over the five-year reporting period.

“A lot of the stats with the Mental Health Act is also because we’re trying to be better at keeping track,” Davis added.