Lake Worth Police Department

LAKE PD WORTH By Landon N. Rollins, Field Operations Commander Lake Worth Police Department faces mental

Law enforcement is counted on to provide a plethora of services to our citizens daily. From crashes to domestic assaults, the delivery of police services is constantly evolving. One of the foremost issues facing law enforcement today involves encounters with people suffering a mental health crisis.

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 1 in 5 U.S. adults live with a diagnosable mental illness and 1 in 20 U.S. adults live with the classification of a severe mental illness. Additionally, 17% of youth (ages 6 – 17 years old) experience a mental health condition (NAMI). Mental illness knows no class of people, race, creed, religion, or socioeconomic status. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has only made matters worse. Each day, our officers respond to an increasing number of calls that involve someone experiencing a mental health emergency.

While fully committed to protecting life and property, a response to calls involving a person in crisis requires

health HEAD on

a response to calls involving a person " in crisis requires a special kind of compassion and additional training."

a special kind of compassion and additional training. More than 90% of Lake Worth Police Department’s patrol officers are certified mental health peace officers (MHPOs). This advanced certification includes 40-hours of specialized training dedicated to helping officers become more proficient in understanding, communicating, and de-escalating situations involving someone in crisis. Becoming a mental health peace officer is completely voluntary and is just one of the many ways your Lake Worth Police Department pursues excellence in service and protection.

We also proudly partner with My Health, My Resources (MHMR) through the Tarrant County Law Liaison Project. Under the program, the Lake Worth Police Department now has a licensed MHMR mental health professional assigned to the department who reviews our interactions with mental health individuals and even partners with our officers to follow up with those we have encountered in the past. The goal of the program is to ensure all individuals who are experiencing a mental illness have resources they need to get past the crisis event. The Lake Worth Police Department takes tremendous pride in being proactive, and partnerships like the one we enjoy with MHMR reflects our commitment to preventing negative interactions between the police and those with mental illness.

When dealing with a mental health emergency, time is perhaps the most valuable commodity available to officers. In Lake Worth, our officers have the time and the ability to let each situation unfold naturally. Our officers are also empowered to carefully handle each call, one at time. We understand there will always be another call, but we also believe that the call we are on is just as important as the next one. Taking the time to invest in each person we encounter is the foundation of who we are as a police department.

Safety is always our number one priority, and that includes the safety of those who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. We recognize that sometimes people in crisis are a danger to themselves and others. But through our officer’s training and experience, we are prepared to handle these difficult situations safely, while protecting the community and the individual in crisis. The training provided to our officers helps them recognize that the behavior of exhibited by persons in crisis stems from a different motivation than that of the typical criminal suspect. The proper application of alternative policing techniques can not only prevent a crisis from escalading but also prevent an individual in crisis from becoming ensnared in the punitive side of the law. In these types of encounters, our ultimate goal is to get an individual in crisis the help he or she needs without any formal charges.

Rest assured, the men and women of the Lake Worth Police Department are committed to providing excellent service and protection to each person we come in contact with. To learn more, please visit our website at lakeworthtx.org/police.