Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)

CIT officers are dispatched to mental health calls or to assist officers who are not CIT-qualified. These officers complete a 40-hour training course in mental health and de-escalation techniques and maintain partnerships with mental health providers. CIT officers are volunteers selected by their agencies (representing approximately 25 percent of the patrol force) to provide specialized responses to people with mental illnesses in addition to their normal patrol duties.

For samples related to this intervention, see these resources:

• CIT Policy from Hartford Police Department
• CIT Policy from St. Louis County Police Department
• Sample CIT Memorandum of Understanding between Mental Health Agencies and Public Safety from Wake County, NC
• CIT Utah Training Curriculum

For more information on this intervention, see these resources:

• Police-Mental Health Collaboration Toolkit "Crisis Intervention Teams"
• University of Memphis CIT Center

Local Examples

Salt Lake County, UT Salt Lake City Police Department

• The CIT provides 40-hour training for patrol and corrections-based academies.
• The department operates a dedicated CIT Investigative Unit that includes three detectives to follow up on mental health calls for service.

For a sample related to this example, see this resource:

• CIT Metro Curriculum and Schedule

For more information on this example, see this resource:

• Salt Lake City Police Department Law Enforcement-Mental Health Learning Site Profile

Miami-Dade County, FL Eleventh Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project (CMHP)

• All 36 police departments in the county participate in the 40-hour training, which is held 16 times each year.
• In addition to serving as regular patrol officers, CIT officers are trained to appropriately respond to calls involving mental health crises.
• The pre-booking component of the CMHP follows the Memphis Model of CIT, where officers volunteer to participate in CIT and are trained to respond to mental health-related calls in addition to performing regular patrol duties.

For more information on this example, see these resources:

• Program Description - Eleventh Judicial Circuit Criminal Mental Health Project
• Mental Health and Criminal Justice Case Study: Miami-Dade County, Fla.