Columbus Police Crisis Intervention Team

Quick Facts:

Description

The Columbus Police CIT Program consists of volunteer officers assigned to patrol functions who receive 40 hours of specialized training to make them generalist/specialists on mental health responses. They are first responders to service calls involving persons who are in a mental health crisis. Officers assess the situation and get the person in need to a place of safety while trying to divert those persons from the criminal justice system as often as they can.
Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Columbus Division of Police
Approximate number of officers in agency:
1900
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:
2003
Total number of officers in program:
220

Columbus Police Crisis Intervention Team

Contact:

Name:
Christopher Bowling
Title:
Lieutenant, CIT Coordinator, Professional Standards Bureau, Inspections Administrative Section
Organization:
Columbus Division of Police
Address:
120 Marconi Blvd.
Columbus, OH 43215
Email:
cbowling@columbuspolice.org
Phone:
614-645-8846

Agency Information

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Columbus Division of Police
Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
Municipal
Approximate number of officers in agency:
1900

Specialized Response Description

Program start year:
2003
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:
There is only one specialized response program in the jurisdiction.
Background information:
The Columbus Police CIT Program became operational in 2003 following collaborative meetings between law enforcement, the criminal justice system, mental health service providers, and mental health advocacy groups in 2002. In October 2002, the current CIT Coordinator and a representative of the mental health system attended a CIT training course elsewhere in Ohio. Those representatives then returned, interacted with an advisory group that had already been in operation, and created a 40-hour CIT training course in Franklin County. The Columbus Division of Police then began its own program in September 2003 and continues to grow and change. Other law enforcement agenices in Franklin County also attend the 40-hour course that is now delivered in cooperation with the Franklin County CIT Steering Committee.
Total number of officers in program:
220
Number of people with mental illness served:
More than 500
Catchment area:
The entire jurisdiction
Funding source(s):
  • Local Mental Health Department
  • Community Mental Health Service Provider
  • Private foundation grant funding
    • Staff supported by funding:
    • No personnel costs are part of the funding.

    Program Partners and Personnel

    Existence of planning and oversight committee:
    Yes, currently
    Committee participants:
  • Law enforcement line-level staff
  • Law enforcement supervisory-level staff
  • Law enforcement leadership
  • Mental health (and/or substance abuse) supervisory-level staff
  • Mental health (and/or substance abuse) leadership
  • Consumers of mental health services
  • Family members of consumers
  • Advocates
    • Mental health or advocacy agencies that participate in program:
    Franklin County ADAMH Board, NAMI-Franklin County, Mental Health America of Franklin County, Netcare Corporation, Southeast Mental Health Center, North Central Mental Health Center, Columbus Area Mental Health Center, Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare, OSU-Harding Hospital (Ohio State University) and others
    Written agreement of roles and procedures:
    No
    Recruitment and selection:
    Patrol officers and patrol supervisors volunteer and most 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:
  • Pre-service training for new recruits at the academy
  • 16
  • Basic in-service training for all patrol officers
  • 2
  • Advanced in-service training for select patrol officers
  • 40
    • Number of officers who receive advanced training:
    201-500
    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
    • Developmental disabilities
    • Psychiatric medications
    • Community resources (mental health services, etc.)
    • Legal issues concerning individuals with mental illness
    • Legal issues concerning police officer liability
    • De-escalation techniques
    • 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
  • Site visits to community mental health facilities
  • Ride-alongs
  • Videotapes
  • Virtual reality/computerized simulations of mental illness symptoms
    • Other information on training:
    No other information is available.

    Response Procedures

    Standardized dispatch questions:
    No
    Dispatch documentation:
  • Document in central computer database used for all calls, such as a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system
    • 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 an arrest report
    • Record information in an incident report titled "Aid and Transport"
    Use of information on individuals' mental illness stored in police records:
    As background/historical information and/or to provide safety warnings to responders
    Mental health professional available to support police responder:
    • Can contact crisis center or applicable case manager, but only for advice
    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 and assessment of violence by the individual
    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 / crisis center
  • General hospital emergency room
    • Drop-off center accepts people with co-occurring substance abuse disorders:
    Yes
    Length of time for drop-off and return to patrol:
    21-30 minutes

    Program Sustainability

    Data collection:
    Yes
    Published evaluation:
    No
    Local media coverage:
    Yes.
    Legislative funding or support:
    No
    Key to the program's success:
    Nothing else to report.
    About this information:

    A program representative provided this information details through a detailed survey.

    For more information on the survey, read about our methodology or download a pdf of the full survey.

    If you are a representative of a similar program not yet listed in our database, please register and take the survey to contribute your information.

    Explore the Justice Center’s Websites
    CSG Justice Center Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project Justice Reinvestment National Reentry Resource Center Reentry Policy Council