According to a study conducted by the
Treatment Advocacy Center, “…an estimated 1 in 3 individuals transported to the emergency room for a psychiatric
crisis is taken there by police.” The same study reports that “…individuals
with severe mental illness generate no less than 1 in 10 calls for police
service and occupy at least 1 in 5 of America’s prisons and jail beds.”
Deputies from the St. Mary’s County
Sheriff’s Office frequently respond to calls in which a mentally unstable
individual is in various forms of stress including illness, drug use or abuse,
or a combination of all three. These situations are challenging and complex,
and law enforcement officers across the country deal with them on a daily
basis. In St. Mary's County, patrol deputies can respond to them multiple times
during a twelve-hour shift.
To address mental
health issues,
agencies across the region are working together to advance a progressive
approach called Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training. The Sheriff’s Office, working in partnership with the
National Alliance on Mental Illness and the Mental Health Core Service Agencies
for St. Mary’s, Calvert and Charles Counties in Southern Maryland, has met the
20-25% recommended implementation of CIT for an agency, with 36 deputies, one
captain, and seven correctional officers CIT certified.
Although all deputies have gone
through Mental Health First-Aid, an eight-hour course designed to help deputies
identify, understand and respond to signs of addiction and mental illnesses,
the Sheriff’s Office reports that there is a need to advance deputies through the CIT course as well, known
as the Memphis Model.
The Memphis Model is considered the
“gold standard” crisis intervention response for individuals in a mental health
crisis. It is a large-scale collaborative program between the community and law
enforcement and includes a 40-hour advanced officer training component. The
Memphis Model approach improves safety in the community while it provides an
opportunity for jail diversion and treatment for individuals experiencing
distress.
The history of CIT in St. Mary’s
County dates back to 2005, when Connie Walker, a retired Navy Captain living in
Leonardtown, became an advocate for veterans and other individuals suffering
from mental illness. After her eldest son had returned from serving overseas in
Iraq with a diagnosis of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and major depression,
Walker took a 12-week family psychoeducation course offered in Baltimore by the
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). In 2006, she became the founder and
first president of NAMI Southern Maryland (NAMI SoMD) and ultimately became the
president of NAMI Maryland. It was during the early days of NAMI SoMD that
Walker heard about the unique approach the Memphis Police Department was using,
called Crisis Intervention Training (CIT).
After undergoing testing in Memphis,
CIT was piloted nationwide in an effort to
enhance police officers’ ability to de-escalate situations and more
productively respond to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.
The long-standing practice in Southern
Maryland had been to transport individuals
in a mental health crisis to hospital emergency rooms or jail. CIT offers law
enforcement a new way to deal with non-traditional police calls for mental
health services. The new approach helps to de-escalate tense situations for both
the individual and law enforcement.
Walker’s commitment to CIT was reinforced after a local incident where an
individual suffering from a mental illness was
fatally shot. This tragedy
resonated with Walker, and she asked for a meeting with Sheriff Cameron to
discuss adding CIT to the regular training schedule for St. Mary’s County
deputies.
Walker is quick to point out that
Sheriff Cameron did not need any convincing. “Sheriff Cameron was so
progressive in having that meeting and hearing me out. As soon as we discussed
CIT and he reviewed the methods and outcomes where CIT has been put into
practice elsewhere in the nation – he recognized the benefit in implementing
CIT here,” Walker said. “Sheriff Cameron took the ball and ran with it. I’ll
always be grateful for his dedication to beginning this training effort with
the Maryland State Office of Forensics. That office delivered basic mental health crisis intervention
training for St. Mary’s County deputies; and while it wasn’t the Memphis Model
– it was certainly more than had ever been received here before – and it began
just a few months after Sheriff Cameron agreed to meet with me.”
A few months later, the Sheriff had
his deputies attend the training suggested by Ms. Walker. Since its inception,
the training developed into what is now
formally labeled Crisis Intervention Team Training.
Since then, the Sheriff’s Office has
made further strides and remains committed to advancing their Crisis
Intervention Teams. Capt. Daniel Alioto and Sgt. Raddatz continue to lead the agency’s efforts in Crisis
Intervention Team enhancement. The two
deputies were the first to receive CIT training through Montgomery County and
are also members of the nine-person hostage negotiation team, where all members
are CIT certified.
“With increasing regularity, members
of our agency have community contact with persons in crisis, with a mental
illness or co-occurring disorders. We recognize the need to be prepared and
ensure the safety of all participants involved.
We will continue to train and equip our deputies and correctional
officers with the necessary tools to respond to such encounters,” said Captain
Daniel Alioto.
In June, St. Mary’s County School
Resource Officers attended the training and in November, additional shift commanders, special operations
division deputies, patrol deputies, correctional officers, and detectives are scheduled for CIT.
“The Core Service Agency for mental
health has grant funds that can be used for further development of CIT teams.
Our goal is to regionalize the training and build a strong network of
collaboration between everyone – law enforcement, Core Service Agencies (CSA),
and the community,” said Karyn Black, Director, Charles County Core Services
Agency.
Black also emphasized, “Ideally, there
would be mobile crisis teams and walk-in crisis centers available at all hours.
However, we do not have the resources in Southern Maryland. Instead, we are
developing an engagement and linkage program to follow-up on law enforcement
referrals and help individuals access community-based behavioral health
services. The CSAs are working to encourage existing behavioral health
providers in Southern Maryland to cooperate more with individuals referred by law enforcement.”
Funded through Crisis Intervention
Training grant funds provided through the Charles County Core Service Agency by
the Behavioral Health Administration at the Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene, Sheriff Tim Cameron, Capt. Daniel Alioto and Sgt. Bill Raddatz
attended the CIT Team International Training Conference held in Chicago in
April.
“The conference enhanced the Sheriff’s
Office crisis prevention program with a better understanding of the population
we serve and the needs of those suffering from mental illness and substance
abuse disorders or experiencing a mental health crisis,” Raddatz said.
Sheriff Cameron added, “The Sheriff’s
Office recognizes emergency situations, suicide attempts and mental health
crises as a priority in the community. Our goal is to respond to individuals
with an efficient, effective, respectful and compassionate approach that helps
them maintain their dignity. We will continue to work with advocacy groups, the
mental health providers, and the community to enhance our CIT program.”
