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Georgia Crisis Intervention Teams
Quick Facts:
- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- Georgia Bureau of Investigation
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 243
- 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:
- 400
Georgia Crisis Intervention Teams
Contact:
- Name:
- Elizabeth Turner
- Title:
- CIT Program Administrator
- Organization:
- Georgia Bureau of Investigation
- Address:
- 3121 Panthersville Road
Decatur, GA - Email:
- Elizabeth.Turner@gbi.state.ga.us
- Phone:
- 404-270-8320
Agency Information
- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- Georgia Bureau of Investigation
- Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
- County or Parish
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 243
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:
- There is only one specialized response program in the jurisdiction.
- Background information:
- The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) is a dynamic collaboration of professionals committed to people with mental illness and other brain disorders. The CIT program is sponsored by the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the Georgia Department of Human Resources Division of Mental Health, Development Disabilities, and Addictive Diseases, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, Georgia Sheriff's Association, Inc., and Georgia Public Safety Training Center. It began in October of 2004 and was implemented in December of 2004.
- Total number of officers in program:
- 400
- Number of people with mental illness served:
- More than 500
- Catchment area:
- More than one jurisdiction
- Funding source(s):
- Federal grant funds
- Staff supported by funding:
- Program Coordinator
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) line-level staff
- Mental health (and/or substance abuse) supervisory-level staff
- Mental health (and/or substance abuse) leadership
- Consumers of mental health services
- Advocates
- Mental health or advocacy agencies that participate in program:
- Emory University, Behavioral Health Link, Grady Hospital, Georgia Regional Hospital, The Carter Center, The Georgia Department of Human Resources - MHDDAD, NAMI, CEPTA, AADD
- Written agreement of roles and procedures:
- Yes
- Recruitment and selection:
- Officers volunteer and some are selected.
- Program coordinator/boundary spanner
- Yes. There are multiple program coordinators
- You can contact me for that information. There are too many to put in this box.
Training on Mental Health Issues
- 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
- 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
- Site visits to community mental health facilities
- Videotapes
- Virtual reality/computerized simulations of mental illness symptoms
Response Procedures
- Standardized dispatch questions:
- Not Sure
- Dispatch documentation:
- Not sure
- Incident documentation by responding officer:
-
- Don't record information
- Not sure
- Use of information on individuals' mental illness stored in police records:
- Not sure.
- Mental health professional available to support police responder:
- No
- 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:
- I think so, but am not sure.
- Access to drop-off locations:
- In the Metro-Atlanta area, usually 24 hours a day, other areas I am not sure of.
- Length of time for drop-off and return to patrol:
- More than 45 minutes
Program Sustainability
- Data collection:
- No
- Published evaluation:
- There will be a CIT Officers Manual published in December of 2006. No
- Local media coverage:
- CNN has done a piece on Georgia CIT
- Legislative funding or support:
- No
- Key to the program's success:
- Emory University is currently working on a focus group research project.
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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