The Harrisonburg Police Department is looking to improve its response to emergency calls that involve a mental health crisis.
Approximately 90 percent of sworn personnel have received Crisis Intervention (CIT) and Integrating Communications, Assessment and Tactics (ICAT) training in the classroom, but being faced with situations in real time isn’t something many officers feel equipped to handle on their own.
“We’re putting an officer in a situation that is really challenging, and so to put those officers in those situations without an extensive training in these topics, it is a really tough situation,” HPD Captain Jason Kidd told AFP.
The department announced this month plans to add two new jobs: a licensed clinician and a qualified mental health professional.
The mental-health positions are being funded through a three-year grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Kidd believes that when the funds expire, they should be able to find additional grants to cover the costs for the future.
Mental health professionals will ‘bring years of expertise’
Having mental health professionals on staff should improve the response to crisis calls in the field. Officers who respond with the professionals will also get to see de-escalation techniques in a setting outside the classroom.
“We really feel that by pairing the officers with someone who really is that subject matter expert in the field of psychology or social work, that’s really going to connect that officer with the resources he or she’s going to need to make the best decisions in the field and really best assess the most favorable outcome for that individual in crisis,” Kidd said.
Bringing in mental health professionals with a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, or even a Ph.D., will bring years of expertise to the staff. Officers, he said, may or may not have a college education. He said that recruits get several days of crisis intervention training at the academy but what they encounter in the field in real-time is different than what you learn in a classroom setting.
“They’re put into a situation where they’re dealing with someone who’s having their worst day, and the challenge there is that police officer has to make split-second decisions with limited information and limited training,” Kidd said.
It’s challenging for everyone involved, the person in crisis and the responding officer, Kidd said.
Mental health in the ‘top five’ emergency calls in the ‘Burg
“We’ve looked at our calls for service, and we’re constantly evaluating what types of calls we respond to, where the community needs us, and what is it they need us to do. And frequently we see that mental health related calls for service are in the top five for our most frequent calls for service,” he said.
“Bearing that in mind, we were thinking about what resources we would need in place to best handle these calls, and one of the emerging best practices around the nation has been to have these co-responder programs where mental health professionals are paired with officers, not in an office, but rather in the field, to handle emergencies and really any crisis situation that may come about in the community.”
Harrisonburg currently has one officer on each patrol squad designed as a Mental Illness Crisis Team (MICT) officer.
He said officers currently respond to calls related to a crisis and do their best to access what the needs are and how pressing the situation is.
Sometimes, officers can refer the individual to a local mental health professional for treatment at a later date.
Other cases involve an individual who is an immediate danger to themselves or others. Individuals in crisis sometimes recognize the need for help, and other times officers must detain the person, usually in the emergency room.
When a Temporary Detention Order (TDO) is granted, it presents challenges to police departments with already limited resources. An officer assumes custody of the individual in crisis, and then the next challenge is finding a bed at a treatment facility. Finding a bed is a challenge across the country mostly due to staffing shortages.
Officers sometimes take an individual in crisis to Petersburg, Williamsburg or even as far as the Kentucky border.
If a bed isn’t immediately available, an officer is required to stay with the individual at the hospital until one becomes available or the order expires, usually in 72 hours.
“When you look at it, it’s certainly not the ideal situation for the person in need, because we really want them to get treatment, and during that time, they’re not receiving a lot of treatment.
“It’s not the best outcome, but it is a better outcome than the individual just being put back on the street,” Kidd said.
Apply for a co-responder position
HPD is adding two mental health co-responder positions: a licensed clinician and a qualified mental health professional (QMHP).
HPD’s mental health professionals will join officers on calls for service where mental health may be a factor, to better assess the needs of individuals in crisis and assist officers in handling the call.
The goal of the positions is to improve the diversion of individuals with mental health and substance use challenges from arrest and unnecessary hospitalization and increase access to treatment.
For more information on the positions, visit www.harrisonburgva.gov.
Video: Harrisonburg Police addressing mental health
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Crystal Graham
