News release

Provincial funding supports broader response to rising wellness checks

February 16, 2026 - Smithers, BC, British Columbia
From: Smithers RCMP

Content

Smithers RCMP has secured provincial funding to strengthen the local Situation Table and support prevention-focused collaboration.

In January 2025, the detachment responded to 25 wellness checks. In January 2026, that number rose to 43.

These calls are not criminal in nature. They involve mental health crises, medical concerns, housing instability, and other forms of vulnerability. In many cases, family members, healthcare providers, or community organizations are unable to reach someone they are worried about and request police attendance.

Behind many of these calls is genuine concern. They reflect neighbours and families who care deeply about someone’s safety and well-being.

Many of these situations involve needs that health and social service professionals are better equipped to address long term. However, when other services are unable to attend in the moment, police respond.

Wellness checks are now one of the most significant drivers of frontline workload in Smithers.

Police operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When someone does not know who else to call, or when other services are unavailable, police attend.

• We are not housing.
• We are not healthcare.
• We are not long-term mental health providers.

Yet we are often the backstop when those services are unavailable or stretched.

When crisis escalates and police are called as the emergency response, the outcome is often viewed through a policing lens alone. However, many of these situations are shaped by complex social factors long before police become involved.

Emergency response is the final point of contact in a much broader continuum of care.

We need stronger community supports in place before crisis becomes the catalyst for action.

The Situation Table is a group of frontline service providers who meet regularly to identify individuals at acutely elevated risk and coordinate supports before situations escalate.

This funding will help strengthen that collaboration and expand conversations beyond individual cases, with the goal of improving upstream supports and reducing the need for crisis response through stronger coordination and leadership at the systems level.

The police will always respond when called. But long-term community safety depends on strong partnerships, accessible services, and coordinated systems working together to prevent crisis whenever possible.

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