Suffolk County police dispatchers are diverting some 911 calls to disaster hotline staff in an try and de-escalate friction between responding officers and residents scuffling with psychological sickness, county officers stated Thursday.
The initiative is a part of three packages the division unveiled and stated are the results of the 1,000-page police reform plan accepted by the county legislature in March 2021, which included modifications in how police reply to calls about psychological well being crises.
Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo ordered native governments to reform regulation enforcement businesses in June 2020, shortly after George Floyd was killed whereas within the custody of Minneapolis police. Floyd’s dying sparked months of nationwide protests over police killings and different misconduct.
On Thursday, the division additionally introduced that officers who reply to calls involving folks with behavioral well being and substance abuse points will use videoconferencing to work with social staff on the Diagnostic, Evaluation and Stabilization Hub (DASH), a 24-hour disaster intervention middle, Suffolk County Government Steve Bellone stated.
The division may even refer residents with psychological well being points who’re the topic of three or extra 911 calls in six months to the Household Service League, the social companies group that operates DASH and supplies counseling, habit therapy and different help, Bellone stated throughout a information convention on the FSL’s Hauppauge workplace.
Bellone, Suffolk Police Commissioner Rodney Harrison and different officers stated the packages will assist residents affected by psychological sickness get help whereas permitting officers to stay on patrol.
“The purpose of those packages, these three packages, is to cut back the stigma round psychological well being, de-escalate tense conditions, handle gaps in behavioral well being response, and in the end, get those that are in disaster the therapy and the assistance that they want,” Bellone stated.
Harrison stated about 150 calls have been diverted by 911 operators since June to the disaster hotline, whereas 173 individuals who have been the topics of three or extra 911 calls – the commissioner known as them “excessive utilizers” – have been referred to the Household Service League for help. Practically three-quarters of these referrals have resulted in constructive outcomes, Harrison stated.
“Connecting excessive utilizers to the mandatory companies permits our cops to remain on patrol to ensure they’re defending our communities,” Harrison stated.
Bellone stated the county dedicated an extra $1 million for psychological well being response in its 2022 working funds.
Greater than 20% of the Suffolk County Police Division’s patrol officers have obtained enhanced psychological well being or disaster intervention coaching, Bellone stated. Psychological well being first assist has additionally been added to the police academy curriculum, which implies future generations of officers will know methods to de-escalate conditions involving people with psychological sickness. Officers hope to supply disaster coaching to at the least 4 officers and one supervisor per squad.
Karen Boorshtein, president and CEO of the Household Service League, stated psychological sickness and substance abuse has elevated dramatically in recent times. Teaming up with Suffolk police, she stated, will assist folks affected by psychological well being points get help.
“This venture is designed to empower and strengthen our group by addressing and de-escalating conditions locally,” she stated.
