Specialized Policing Responses: Law Enforcement/Mental Health Learning Sites Jurisdictions across the country are exploring strategies to improve the outcomes of encounters between law enforcement and people with mental disorders. These efforts took root in the late 1980s, with the emergence of crisis intervention teams and co-response models. As a growing number of communities engage in the development of specialized policing responses (SPR), many grapple with the program design process, and are unsure how to tailor models from other jurisdictions to best fit their distinct circumstances. In an effort to expand the knowledge base for law enforcement agencies interested in starting or enhancing a SPR, with assistance from a team of national experts and the U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center selected six police departments from across the country to act as national law enforcement/mental health learning sites. These learning sites represent a diverse cross-section of perspectives and program examples, and are dedicated to helping other jurisdictions across the country improve their responses to people with mental illnesses.
Madison (WI) Police Department Total number of agency personnel: 550 Sworn: 444 Civilian: 106 Total population served: 232,000 people Jurisdiction and state: Madison, Wisconsin Program Highlights • Data collection and information dissemination to line-level officers • Training for all officers accomplished through “scenario-based” academy model • Officers trained to be “mental health liaisons” Since the mid-1980s, the Madison Police Department (MPD) has been dedicated to establishing and cultivating a comprehensive criminal justice–behavioral health partnership. The MPD has a longstanding commitment to partner with other law enforcement agencies, mental health care providers, advocates, and consumers in an effort to improve services to people who have mental disorders. MPD trains every officer to respond appropriately to people who have mental disorders and are in crisis, emphasizing the use of communication, de-escalation, and stabilization skills to work toward an effective resolution. MPD conducts extensive training at its academy, where agency personnel are able to tailor training topics to best suit the needs of the community, the department, and its officers. All officers receive
approximately 60 hours of crisis management and mental health-related training during the course of the preservice academy, as well as ongoing in-service training. To complement the MPD’s specialized training, the department has expanded its SPR over the years to include a multifaceted approach that includes the Mental Health Liaison Program, which is coordinated by a captain. The program coordinator and mental health liaison officers work with mental health providers, advocates, and consumers to provide individual response and follow-up plans, to address system issues/concerns, to share information internally and externally as appropriate, and, if possible, respond to mental health calls for service. The department’s Mental Health Liaison Program uses well-trained patrol officers as first responders, complemented by 15 sworn liaisons who provide specialized case management and coordination services in conjunction with behavioral health providers. The Mental Health Liaison Program provides additional support to first-responding officers to prevent, respond, and de-escalate, as well as follow-up on, situations involving a person in mental health crisis. Mental health liaison officers—regularly-assigned patrol officers who volunteer or are selected to serve— respond to mental health crises when available. Their primary responsibilities include identifying ongoing concerns or barriers to improved responses and coordinating follow-up efforts with partner agencies; engaging residents who have mental disorders in their districts; serving as a point of contact regarding mental health systems issues for the community; and conducting trainings, attending relevant community meetings, and sharing necessary information internally and externally when appropriate. In conjunction with fellow patrol officers, the mental health liaison officers work within and across districts to provide a coordinated, consistent, and collaborative response to calls for service involving people who have mental disorders.
In an effort to more consistently and comprehensively address mental health issues in the community, and mitigate the increasing demands on patrol resources to provide services to people with mental disorders, the MPD recently created five new full-time mental health officer positions, one per district. The mental health officers will work closely with the volunteer mental health liaisons to address identified mental health issues.
To learn more about the MPD and its initiatives, please contact: Name
Kristen Roman
Title
Captain
Address
211 S. Carroll Street, Madison, WI 53704
Phone
(608) 266-4835
kroman@cityofmadison.com
To learn more about the Law Enforcement/Mental Health Learning Sites, please visit csgjusticecenter.org/mental-health/learning-sites/ or contact Nicola Smith-Kea at nsmithkea@csg.org or (240) 915-9718.