Crisis Intervention Team and Co-Responders Program Highlighted for Mental Health Response

The Lee's Summit Police Department is expanding its mental health response capabilities through its Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Program and co-responders initiative to better serve residents experiencing mental health crises.

"Traditionally, we think of police officers as those responding to law enforcement needs within the community. But honestly, we are there to serve our citizens, and our citizens do go into crisis. They do have mental health crises, and we're being called to those scenes on a regular basis," a police department representative explained.

The Crisis Intervention Team consists of officers specially trained to de-escalate crisis situations. Recently, the department has enhanced its response by adding co-responders – licensed mental health professionals housed within the police department who respond alongside officers to crisis scenes.

"These are officers that are specially trained to de-escalate crisis situations. Recently, we've brought co-responders onto the scene, licensed, qualified mental health professionals housed within our police department, and they respond with those officers directly to those scenes where a crisis is occurring so they can interact with that citizen and get them the help they need right there on that scene," the representative said.

Co-responders have either bachelor's or master's degrees in behavioral health-related fields. They wear plain clothes and do not carry weapons. They monitor police radio communications for mental health-related calls and can self-dispatch to scenes.

"I have a police radio that I listen to all day. Listen for, you know, those key words, mental health, behavioral health, crisis. There's a lot of officers that just call for me. I have my own radio number. I also have the ability to self-dispatch to them," a co-responder explained.

The department reports that mental health-related calls have increased significantly in recent years. In 2020, the department received 722 mental health-related calls for service, which increased to 1,479 by 2022.

"These mental health related calls for service are increasing. How we're responding to that is increasing the number of crisis intervention team officers we have available as well as the number of co-responders we have available to respond on these calls," the police representative noted.

The co-responder program aims to connect people with appropriate services and divert them from emergency rooms and jails when possible. Co-responders can help develop safety plans, connect individuals with support networks, and arrange follow-up care.

"We want to help and that's what we love to do," one co-responder said, adding that residents can specifically request a co-responder when calling 911 for a mental health crisis.