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Anchorage Crisis Intervention Team
Quick Facts:
Description
Law enforcement specialized response to people with mental illness- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- Anchorage Police Department
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 368
- Primary specialized response:
- Police officers are trained to provide crisis intervention services and to act as liaisons to the mental health system.
- Program start year:
- 2005 or earlier
- Total number of officers in program:
- 35
Anchorage Crisis Intervention Team
Contact:
- Name:
- Wendi Shackelford
- Title:
- Officer
- Organization:
- Anchorage Police Department
- Address:
- 4501 South Bragaw Street
Anchorage, AK - Email:
- wshackelford@ci.anchorage.ak.us
- Phone:
- 907-742-3219
Agency Information
- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- Anchorage Police Department
- Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
- Township
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 368
Specialized Response Description
- Program start year:
- 2005 or earlier
- Primary specialized response:
- Police officers are trained to provide crisis intervention services and to act as liaisons to the mental health system.
- Secondary specialized response:
- Mental health professionals partner with law enforcement officers to provide on-scene crisis intervention and referral.
- Background information:
- Our program began when we attended the 40 hour CIT course in Memphis in 2001. Our first CIT academy took place in 2002. We have hosted five CIT academies since.
- Total number of officers in program:
- 35
- Number of people with mental illness served:
- 101-200
- Catchment area:
- The entire jurisdiction
- Funding source(s):
-
- State Mental Health Authority
- Private foundation grant funding
- Staff supported by funding:
-
- Law Enforcement Officer
- MH Service Provider (e.g. case manager, social worker)
- Program Coordinator
Program Partners and Personnel
- Existence of planning and oversight committee:
- Yes, currently
- Committee participants:
-
- Law enforcement line-level staff
- Mental health (and/or substance abuse) line-level staff
- Consumers of mental health services
- Family members of consumers
- Mental health or advocacy agencies that participate in program:
- Anch Community MH; NAMI
- Written agreement of roles and procedures:
- No
- Recruitment and selection:
- Officers volunteer and all are selected.
- Program coordinator/boundary spanner
- Yes. The program coordinator represents a law enforcement agency
- Same
Training on Mental Health Issues
- Types of training on mental health issues:
-
- NA
- NA
- Basic in-service training for select patrol officers
- 40
- 40
- NA
- 10
- 10
- Number of officers who receive advanced training:
- 1-50
- Groups who conducts advanced training:
-
- Police officers
- Mental health professionals (crisis workers)
- Medical professionals (doctors or nurses)
- Consumers
- Community members
- Advocates
- Family member of a person with mental illness
- Advanced training topics:
- Recognizing symptoms of mental illness, and clinical issues
- Co-occurring disorders
- Psychiatric medications
- Community resources (mental health services, etc.)
- Legal issues concerning individuals with mental illness
- Legal issues concerning police officer liability
- De-escalation techniques
- Less lethal use of force options
- Suicide prevention
- The role of families and other supports in mental health treatment and recovery
- Advanced training methods:
-
- Presentations (including panels, lectures, and/or PowerPoints)
- Role plays
- Videotapes
- Other information on training:
- We are constantly evaluating, re-creating, and re-vamping our basic and advanced courses.
Response Procedures
- Standardized dispatch questions:
- Not Sure
- Dispatch documentation:
-
- Document in central computer database used for all calls, such as a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system
- Document in a specialized computer database for only mental health calls
- Incident documentation by responding officer:
-
- Relay information to dispatch who records it in general computer database used for all calls, such as a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system
- Record information in a field encounter form, or other form used to document every citizen encounter
- Record information in log maintained by mental health personnel at the crisis drop-off location or by some other mental health organization
- Use of information on individuals' mental illness stored in police records:
- History of LE contact to assist responding officers in problem solving or establishing rapport.
- Mental health professional available to support police responder:
- Yes, both on-site and remotely
- Officers permitted to transport people with mental illness to services when:
- The person has volunteered to receive mental health treatment
- The person is being brought to a hospital for emergency evaluation
- The person is being brought to a crisis center or other health care facility for stabilization or medications management
- Officers allowed to transport a person without handcuffs:
- Officer discretion
- Access to drop-off locations:
- Yes. It is open 24 hours a day.
- Procedure for streamlined intake and a "no refusal" policy for police referrals?
- Yes
- Location of drop-off center(s):
- Psychiatric emergency room in general hospital
- Drop-off center accepts people with co-occurring substance abuse disorders:
- Yes
- Length of time for drop-off and return to patrol:
- 11-20 minutes
Program Sustainability
- Data collection:
- No
- Published evaluation:
- No
- Local media coverage:
- Anchorage Daily News
- Legislative funding or support:
- No
- Key to the program's success:
- We are currently working on that area by developing a single page form for officers to complete in the field to capture additional information on CIT-related calls for the purposes of evaluation and funding
About this information:
A program representative provided this information details through a detailed survey.
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