Brookhaven Police Mental Health Co-Responder Program
Since their inception in 2013 , the Brookhaven Police Department ( BPD ) has worked to advance police training and practice using the highest and best quality training , instruction , and strategic partnerships . To that end , as it relates to mental health services , BPD has partnered with Georgia ’ s National Alliance on Mental Illness ( NAMI ), and the Georgia CIT Advisory Board in conjunction with the Georgia Public Safety Training Center . With the goal of training 100 % of its officers , and despite interruptions to training caused by the COVID-19 pandemic , BPD proudly reports that 63 % of our officers are CIT trained with several others scheduled to attend CIT training in 2021 .
In the wake of calls for police reform and paradigm shifts in mid-2020 , BPD forged an innovative partnership to embed mental health professionals within the Brookhaven Police Department and more efficiently connect persons with mental health crises , developmental disabilities , and substance abuse crises with community resources . This article details the project concept , implementation , and early successes .
The BPD Mental Health Co-Responder program was launched in October 2020 in cooperation with Behavioral Health Link ( BHL ). Providing services in 104 of Georgia ’ s 159 counties , BHL has been intimately involved in providing mental health resources to Georgians since 2006 , through services including : the Georgia Crisis
Access Line ( GCAL ) and mobile ; blended mobile crisis response services ; and software services . BPD sought to capitalize on this experience by partnering directly with BHL to deploy resources more rapidly in the Brookhaven community . The vision of the Mental Health Co-Responder Program is to “ make Brookhaven the safest community in Georgia through successful partnerships and a focus on reducing the stigma associated with mental illness .”
The program ’ s goals are to : ( 1 ) improve community , officer , and consumer safety ; ( 2 ) help persons with mental disorders and substance addictions access medical care , rather than entering them into the criminal justice system due to illness-related behaviors ; ( 3 ) provide training to first responders to identify signs and symptoms of mental illness ; and ( 4 ) to provide education and support to members of the Brookhaven Police Department to promote officer wellness and resiliency in the face of stressors and traumas associated with the law enforcement profession .
According to the National Institute of Mental Health , nearly one-in-five U . S . adults live with a mental illness ( 51.5 million in 2019 ). This number represents approximately 20 % of all U . S . adults and , not surprisingly , several studies – likely underestimating the true number – have concluded that as many as 10 % of total police contacts involve a person with mental illness .
50 SPRING . 2021