NEWS

Boosting crisis intervention

Grant to assist police in addressing repetitive calls

By EMMA BARTLETT
Posted 1/10/23

The Cranston Police Department receives 75,000 calls for service a year. While some calls are one time occurrences, repeat callers may contact the department two to five times a week. Since repeated …

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NEWS

Boosting crisis intervention

Grant to assist police in addressing repetitive calls

Posted

The Cranston Police Department receives 75,000 calls for service a year. While some calls are one time occurrences, repeat callers may contact the department two to five times a week. Since repeated calls absorb a lot of first responder resources, the department established a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) to address problems individuals are having and guide them to specific resources. CPD announced Jan. 4 that it has made improvements to de-escalation and crisis intervention training for local police officers and will receive $500,000 from a Community Directed Spending request thanks to Senator Sheldon Whitehouse.

Col. Michael Winquist expanded the department’s Community Outreach Division last year to improve relationships with residents, expand public service and quality of life initiatives and troubleshoot areas of concerns in the community. The grant will be used to create and fill a dedicated response position within the department. The effort is headed by Captain Justin Dutra.

Last year, the police administration received block grant funds from the city to expand its CIT program to 12 hours a week. Dutra said the department quickly saw an almost instantaneous reduction in calls when they sent an officer and clinician response follow up on mental health/quality of life crisis calls. For this work, CPD partnered with Comprehensive Community Action Plan (CCAP) and Gateway Emergency Health Services.

The grant lasted one year and just expired, causing CPD to proactively seek alternative funding. Then the department learned of a bi-partisan bill Senator Sheldon Whitehouse was working on called the Law Enforcement De-escalation Training Act which will equip law enforcement officers with the tools to effectively and safely respond to people in crisis. Introduced by Whitehouse and Senator John Cornyn (R-Tx) Joe Biden signed the legislation on Dec. 27.

According to CPD’s Jan. 4 press release, this law will require the Department of Justice to work with experts to develop comprehensive trainings on de-escalation tactics, alternatives to use of force, deftly responding to mental, behavioral and suicidal crises and making referrals to community-based mental health and behavioral services and support and other social programs. The new law also builds off the editing Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program to create a dedicated stream of funding for local and state law enforcement agencies to train their officers and the mental health professionals who work with them. The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent.

CPD shared their program with Whitehouse who attended community events and went along with CIT officers.

Cranston’s program seeks to alleviate the strain on patrol officers, Fire Department, and city resources for repeat calls. Dutra said that over the past year, with just 12 hours a week, the department has conducted just over 500 outreaches and served 250 people – 98 percent of whom signed up for services outreach and have not called again. Dutra said this is not to say their problems are solved, but that they are on the road to recovery and are calling the right people now instead of defaulting to police and fire every time.

Mayor Ken Hopkins thanked CPD for their work and Whitehouse for the funding.

“This is an innovative program. I hope it’s the first of many in the state that we can take a look at,” said Hopkins.

The mayor said his number one priority is keep Cranston safe and a quality police department is necessary to guarantee public safety for citizens.

“I don’t think we could have done this without the support of our congressional district delegation,” Hopkins said.

Whitehouse added that police are often the first on the scene when someone is dealing with a mental or behavioral health issue. He explained that the bill ensures that Rhode Island police officers have the right training for lifesaving crisis intervention and de-escalation and proper resources to connect people in crisis with the help they need.

“Rhode Island departments – especially the Cranston Police – and local mental health partners have shown leadership on this issue for years now, and I’m proud to stand alongside them today,” said Whitehouse.

Liz Gledhill, Rhode SIland statewide Crisis Intervention Team coordinator and CIT-RI project manager at Thundermist Health Center, explained that 47 states have a CIT program – with Rhode Island becoming one of those states in 2019; seventy percent of the cities and towns across the state have at least one CIT officer.

“Investments in evidence based training models that focus on de-escalation techniques and alternatives to use-of-force are meaningful investments in our communities; it demonstrates a commitment to improve the outcomes of those experiencing a behavioral health crisis when they intersect with law enforcement,” said Gledhill, in a Jan. 4 press release. “The demand for these types of trainings has increased dramatically over the last few years, and this new legislation will make available much needed resources for agencies who want to access them.”

Joanne McGunagle, CEO of CCAP, noted the police department’s ability to listen to the community and what it needs and acts on that.

Amy McCarthy, LICSW, Mobile Crisis Clinical Coordinator at Gateway Emergency Services also focused on the partnership their organization has had with CPD for the past several decades as well as the benefit of the grant.

“This grant will also allow us to have a clinician based within the department at various times within the week to respond to crisis in real time,” said McCarthy.

She added that several weeks ago there was a case of a woman who was actively suicidal. After the incident, the woman called McCarthy saying, ‘I would not be here today if it were not for the officers that came to my house that night – I owe them my life.’

Additionally, last July, Whitehouse and U.S. Senator Jack Reed announced $1.2 million in federal funding to support CIT training for police departments across Rhode Island. As part of the expansion, Thundermist Health Center, in partnership with the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, is working to equip local police departments with the tools to divert people in crisis away from the justice system and connect  them with mental and behavioral health resources.

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