SF starts non-police behavioral response

[jnc36rcpd]

AMC, is the department documenting incidents in which the social workers call for police to assist or handle the call? It would seem counter-productive for the city to declare this a complete success if police are still handling these calls.

[KellyinAvon]

Just to update this thread, the practice of sending crisis counselors or mental health "experts" has begun here. I've asked several officers how it's going in the field. They weren't sure how to respond, since they haven't seen these folks out there. There seems to be very few of them (because of course), but the cops have responded to calls they've 'redirected' back to the PD. The only time any of the officers I've spoken saw one of these folks was as the guy literally ran PAST them, pointing over his shoulder and yelling "He's back there!" He then jumped in his vehicle and fles the scene. Didn't return when requested by the officers. So .....off to a good start.

Pardon me if I missed it in a previous post, but did anyone ask the "mental health professionals" and "social workers" how they felt about arriving alone at an unsecured scene?

[gkieser92]

Pardon me if I missed it in a previous post, but did anyone ask the "mental health professionals" and "social workers" how they felt about arriving alone at an unsecured scene?

Presumably the mental health professional knowingly signed up for the job, so they should know what to expect. Very few MH professionals have experience contacting clients outside of controlled office settings, and the typical master's level program does not include any training for on-the -street care. I am not familiar with current training programs for that. I expect the field to take 10 to 15 years to catch up with the demand. I think it will become a specialty eventually.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[jnc36rcpd]

The county executive and council are all in favor of social workers running mental health calls in Montgomery County, Maryland. While the Crisis Center has worked effectively with law enforcement in the past, "reimaging public safety" will continue with social worker response. They have been told to get on board or get out.

[gkieser92]

The county executive and council are all in favor of social workers running mental health calls in Montgomery County, Maryland. While the Crisis Center has worked effectively with law enforcement in the past, "reimaging public safety" will continue with social worker response. They have been told to get on board or get out.

There is a very high demand nationwide for good mental health professionals due to Covid-19, so there are plenty of job opportunities for them to jump ship if they don't want to do street work. There is a lot more "embrace the suck" ethos in law enforcement than in the mental health care field.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[peterb]

Very few MH professionals have experience contacting clients outside of controlled office settings, and the typical master's level program does not include any training for on-the -street care. I am not familiar with current training programs for that. I expect the field to take 10 to 15 years to catch up with the demand.

That's what many of the reformers don't get -- even if the money was available, it's going to take time to build a pool of trained people for a new specialty.

I see it as being a bit like the start of EMS. Paramedics as we know them didn't exist until the early 70s.

Training might incorporate some elements of tactical EMS. Responders would need to be familiar with police work in dangerous situations.

[rdtompki]

In California I'm sure you will find non-profits springing up with a cadre of (non-)professional mental health experts. What's the job description for these brave souls?

[peterb]

In the short term, it'd probably be better to partner with folks who are already working in shelters or doing street outreach. They may not be mental health "professionals" but they have wealth of experience in those communities.

The bigger picture is that the infrastructure has to be in place to support the folks working the calls. If they talk someone down by promising them "We're going to get you somewhere safe and get you some help", they've got to be able to deliver on that promise or they'll lose credibility on the street.

[gkieser92]

I have worked with mentally ill, physically aggressive children in mental health and school settings. Don’t discount how dangerous even a 6 or 7 year old can be, especially to themselves, and how hard it can be to physically control them in a way that doesn’t injure them. In hundreds or incidents, I only had to call the SRO twice, and that was when students ran onto neighboring properties and I would be trespassing if we followed them. The reason we were successful was that we were trained and authorized to physically intervene with techniques that were designed to minimize harm and trauma to students. That’s going to be the only way to really reduce police involvement in these calls. It was not rare for me to be physically restraining clients for over an hour, with zero mechanical devices involved. It is risky, exhausting mentally and physically, and requires the utmost in accountability. The payoff is that instead of clients going to jail or the ER, they typically stayed at school, returned to classroom, problem solved and kept living their lives. While we never had a serious injury to a student, every staff member sustained at least one injury requiring workers compensation each year.

[BehindBlueI's]

I have worked with mentally ill, physically aggressive children in mental health and school settings. Don’t discount how dangerous even a 6 or 7 year old can be, especially to themselves, and how hard it can be to physically control them in a way that doesn’t injure them. In hundreds or incidents, I only had to call the SRO twice, and that was when students ran onto neighboring properties and I would be trespassing if we followed them. The reason we were successful was that we were trained and authorized to physically intervene with techniques that were designed to minimize harm and trauma to students. ....

Could the reason for your success also be because as an adult you're got significant advantage over a 1st grader that will not be present when dealing with disturbed adults who are possibly armed, potentially intoxicated to the point of super human strength, not someone that you have such a dominant physical ability over regardless, and who is (bares repeating) potentially armed?