Douglas County Sheriff's Office Crisis Intervention Teams

Quick Facts:

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Douglas County Sheriff's Office
Approximate number of officers in agency:
300
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:
59

Douglas County Sheriff's Office Crisis Intervention Teams

Contact:

Name:
Attila C. Denes
Title:
CIT Coordinator
Organization:
Douglas County Sheriff's Office
Address:
4000 Justice Way
Castle Rock, CO
Email:
adenes@dcsheriff.net
Phone:
303-814-7036

Agency Information

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Douglas County Sheriff's Office
Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
Municipal
Approximate number of officers in agency:
300

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:
The Douglas County Sheriff's Office became involved in the CIT program as part of the coordinated state-wide rollout of CIT that was administered by the Colorado Regional Community Policing Institute, a branch of the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice.
Total number of officers in program:
59
Number of people with mental illness served:
More than 500
Catchment area:
Part of the jurisdiction
Funding source(s):
  • Sheriff's Department
    • Staff supported by funding:
  • Law Enforcement Officer
  • Program Coordinator

    • Program Partners and Personnel

    Existence of planning and oversight committee:
    Yes, currently
    Committee participants:
    • Law enforcement supervisory-level staff
    • Law enforcement leadership
    • Mental health (and/or substance abuse) supervisory-level staff
    • Mental health (and/or substance abuse) leadership
    • Family members of consumers
    Mental health or advocacy agencies that participate in program:
    Arapahoe/Douglas Mental Health Network; 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
    Lieutenant Harry Courtney Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office 13101 E Broncos Pkwy Englewood, CO 80112 Phone: 720-874-3519

    Training on Mental Health Issues

    Types of training on mental health issues:
  • Basic in-service training for all patrol officers
  • 2 hours
  • Basic in-service training for dispatchers and / or call takers
  • 2 hours
  • Advanced in-service training for select patrol officers
  • 40 hours
  • Advanced in-service training for dispatchers and / or call takers
  • 16 hours
    • Number of officers who receive advanced training:
    51-100
    Groups who conducts advanced training:
  • Police officers
  • Mental health professionals (crisis workers)
  • Medical professionals (doctors or nurses)
  • 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
    • 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

    Response Procedures

    Standardized dispatch questions:
    Yes
    Dispatch documentation:
  • Document in central computer database used for all calls, such as a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system
    • Incident documentation by responding officer:
  • Record information on a form used only for mental health calls
  • Record information in a field encounter form, or other form used to document every citizen encounter
    • Use of information on individuals' mental illness stored in police records:
    To facilitate a referal to community mental health care through the CIT Case Management Program; to assure officer safety during future encounters; to document circumstances necessary to prove elements of an offense or to provide information to the prosecutor regarding the mental health status of an offender.
    Mental health professional available to support police responder:
  • Yes, remotely by telephone or dispatch (e.g. a crisis worker or psychiatric emergency room personnel)
    • 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:
    Only if the subject's physical condition prohibits handcuffing (broken arms, etc.).
    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):
  • 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:
    11-20 minutes

    Program Sustainability

    Data collection:
    Yes
    Published evaluation:
    Colorado Division of Criminal Justice Office of Research and Statistics Attn: Diane Pasini-Hill Phone: 303-239-4455
    Local media coverage:
    Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Douglas County News-Press
    Legislative funding or support:
    By state law, 20% of booking fees are dedicated to mental health-related training.
    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.

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