I'm not familiar with the Ottawa situation that you're describing, but in my own service, we had a Crown embedded in our service for that specific purpose, in Vancouver. In my experience, it was hugely beneficial. You ended up with better outcomes because you had communication.
I know that the Province of British Columbia just made an announcement around putting together police officer, Crown and probation officer teams to better manage these issues, and that is a step in the right direction. We get better collaboration and more continuity around how these matters are dealt with when we have dedicated Crowns, dedicated police officers and dedicated probation officers managing these important issues.