When Lisa Deveau began her career, she never imagined it would lead her from the classroom to the front lines of policing—and eventually back to academia. Today, as a PhD candidate in Education, Deveau draws on a uniquely diverse professional background to address one of Canada’s most pressing issues: how police respond to people in mental health crisis.
Deveau’s journey began with a Bachelor of Science followed by a Bachelor of Education from Queen’s University, where she trained to teach high school biology and geography. “My dream was to be a high school science teacher,” she recalls. But when she graduated in 2013, full-time teaching positions were scarce. Reluctant to move away from her hometown of Kingston, Ontario, Deveau spent two years as a supply teacher and educational assistant, often working closely with at-risk youth.
Her ability to connect with students in challenging circumstances didn’t go unnoticed—but steady work proved elusive. “A friend of mine was a police officer,” she explains. “On a whim, I decided to apply. I just needed a full-time job.” After a rigorous year-long application and training process, Deveau joined the Ottawa Police Service.
It was there, she says, that her understanding of policing—and of human behaviour—profoundly changed. “I thought I’d be responding to crimes, but most of my calls were people in crisis—individuals experiencing psychosis, suicidal ideation, or severe distress,” she says. “I realized I didn’t have the background to help them in the way they needed.”
That realization sparked a new direction. While still working as a police officer, Deveau pursued a Master of Social Work, seeking to better understand mental health and its intersection with law enforcement. A chance encounter with an inspiring professor deepened her interest in research. “She encouraged me to explore what I was seeing on the job—the disconnect between how officers are trained and what they’re actually responding to,” Deveau says.
Her master’s work culminated in publications, conference presentations, and policy briefs, as she pushed to share her findings beyond academic circles. “I don’t want research to sit on a shelf,” she emphasizes. “Practitioners—people on the front lines—don’t have time to read ten-page journal articles. I want my work to reach the people who can use it.”
Now in the fourth year of her PhD, Deveau is studying crisis intervention, de-escalation, and mental health literacy training for frontline police officers. Through 21 in-depth interviews with officers across Canada, her research explores their experiences and perspectives on mental health response. “The results were really encouraging,” she notes. “There’s a strong desire among officers to receive better training and to feel equipped to handle these calls with compassion and confidence.”
Deveau hopes her findings will inform curriculum development for police training programs—bridging the gap between theory and practice. “My dream job would be to help design and co-teach mental health training for officers,” she says. “Having worked as both a police officer and a social worker, I see how vital it is to integrate these perspectives.”
For Deveau, her work is about more than data—it’s about change. “I’m passionate about making research relevant and actionable,” she says. “Because when the right training reaches the right people, it can change outcomes—for officers, and for the communities they serve.”