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Specialized law enforcement team

A specialized team of law enforcement personnel is responsible solely for responding to mental health-related calls for service and other duties related to people who have mental illness.

Local Examples

Pima County, AZ Tucson Police Department

  • The Mental Health Support Team (MHST) is a specially trained unit that includes a captain, a lieutenant, a sergeant, detectives, and field officers.
  • The MHST serves as a mental health resource for other officers, community members, and health care providers.
  • The team works with case managers, behavioral health professionals, prosecutors, and community partners to prevent a crisis before it occurs.
For a sample related to this example, see this resource:
For more information on this example, see this resource:

Dane County, WI Madison Police Department

  • Mental health liaison officers volunteer to work with mental health providers, advocates, and people with mental illnesses to provide individual response plans and follow-up services; address system issues or concerns; share information internally and externally, as appropriate; and, if possible, respond to actively occurring mental health calls for service.
  • Six full-time mental health officers (MHOs) coordinate follow-up and outreach efforts with three civilian crisis workers who are embedded within the police department.
  • This team of MHOs and crisis workers aims to collaboratively address the underlying issues that generate repeated calls for service.
For more information on this example, see this resource:
Type

Program

Measures

1 - Reduce bookings into jail

Last updated: April 21, 2019