by Gina DeMent
Five County Mental Health Authority
October is Mental Health Awareness Month!
Law enforcement personnel from Franklin, Granville, Halifax, Vance and Warren Counties will have the opportunity to receive valuable mental health training and resources free of charge!
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training will take place October 6-10 as a partnership of Five County Mental Health Authority, law enforcement personnel, consumers and families, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) affiliates, Vance Granville Community College (VGCC), mental health service providers, community partners and volunteers.
The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) is comprised of officers from different law enforcement agencies who respond to calls precipitated by the aberrant behavior of consumers suffering from mental health conditions, alcoholism, and addiction. The resources available to law enforcement officers are frequently inadequate to immediately address the needs of individuals in need of behavioral interventions. Mental health consumers and those with addictive illness sometimes exhibit behaviors that result in arrest and incarceration. The inappropriate utilization of criminal justice resources by mental health consumers has led to reduced capacity for managing appropriate law enforcement activities. The diversion of low risk consumers with mental health or addictive conditions into an appropriate therapeutic environment has been shown to improve the utilization of criminal justice resources. As importantly, the CIT effort enhances the safety of both consumers and officers.
The CIT officers work directly with other law enforcement personnel to manage incidents that entail a behavioral health issue. These officers use their training to access the scene and are now better equipped to provide the consumer with the services that would best help that individual. The CIT works two fold. Not only do the officers get the consumers the help they need but it also works as a jail diversion.
The jail diversion project is a community partnership of law enforcement and mental health leaders working with mental health consumers and family members. The goal is to set a standard of excellence for the officers with respect to the treatment of individuals with mental illness and substance abuse. This is done by establishing individual responsibility for each event and overall accountability for the results of encounters with these consumers. The project supports both the pre and post booking diversion of individuals with mental health problems who come in contact with law enforcement.
The program benefits law enforcement, as well as consumers and the public. Other established CIT programs have found that the approach results in fewer officer injuries and saves law enforcement agencies time and money. Another plus: People with mental illness and their families appreciate the more thoughtful, respectful approach.
The changes in the organizational structure of mental health services have been brought about by mental health reform. This has led to law enforcement officers becoming front line responders to people with mental illness. Too often, confrontations between the police and mentally ill consumers result in tragedies because law enforcement officers lack the knowledge and experience to respond appropriately to people in psychiatric crisis. This new environment facilitates better cooperation among agencies trying to help people with mental health problems get directed toward appropriate assistance. By getting mental health consumers diverted back into an appropriate channel of care, law enforcement can better focus on criminal and public safety issues.
The goals of the program are simple…to help consumers during there time of stress, give officers awareness of consumers needs, lower the local jail population and advise the community of the program. The rural program has far passed our goals in every aspect set before it.
The benefits of CIT training for Law Enforcement Officers has proven to:
* Decrease the use of force during crisis events
* Decrease the number of Officer injuries
* Provide cost savings in time and money resources
* Improve the use of alternatives to arrest and jail
* Improve collaboration between mental health and advocacy resources
* Increase recognition and appreciation of Law Enforcement
During the 40 hours of training, Officers will become experts in:
* Recognition and assessment of a citizen in mental crisis
* Basic diagnosis and medication awareness
* Verbal de-escalation skills
* Use of less then lethal weapons
* Face-to-face interactions with consumers
* Community resource information
For more information about the Five County CIT Program contact Cynthia Fenner of the Five County Mental Health Authority at 252.430.3048.
This training is also open to security guards and other public safety positions.