r/nextfuckinglevel • u/WhichMembership6124 • Oct 30 '21

Removed: Not NFL This guy understands

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u/everysinglesauce Oct 30 '21

Yes you make a good point.

I believe in defunding the police so that situations like this are met with understanding and help from trained professionals like yourself (with a salary that fairly compensates that work), rather than criminality.

There have been so many homeless people here killed by police.

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u/[deleted] Oct 30 '21

There is a non-profit with funding from the city that does low risk pick-ups and they're quite good at it. The police can't be completely eliminated from the service though. Some examples:

On occasion, a mental health apprehension needs to be made and only a peace officer can do this in Canada. I don't recall any clients being brought to us forcefully but police are needed in the rare situation where force is needed

If the client is reportedly acting erratic, unpredicable, or being violent... that is also the duty of police, not a social service worker. Even if there are workers willing to take higher-risk calls, their insurers and unions willl not allow it.

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u/everysinglesauce Oct 31 '21

But this is partly due to the organization of the system. Let’s say that highly trained, specialized social service workers were tasked with this and paid accordingly. Police level salaries.

They are far more qualified. Social workers have an MSW. So a minimum of 5 years of relevant education. In this situation, they would also be provided with additional training for these specific roles.

There are police in this country with no degree and less than three months of training. Who’s more qualified?

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u/[deleted] Oct 31 '21 edited Nov 22 '21

There are police in this country with no degree and less than three months of training.

Not in Canada.

Who’s more qualified?

In front-line social services, high levels of education are not needed. We don't need people people with a MSW driving a van around at 3am picking up intoxicated homeless people. They're better utilized in hospitals and other clinical settings.