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Knoxville Mobile Crisis

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:: Knoxville Police Department
Approximate number of officers in agency:: 414
Primary specialized response:: Mental health providers, often as members of a mobile crisis team, are called in by law enforcement to provide crisis intervention at the scene.
Program start year:: 2005 or earlier
Total number of officers in program:: All

Program start year:: 2005 or earlier
Primary specialized response:: Mental health providers, often as members of a mobile crisis team, are called in by law enforcement to provide crisis intervention at the scene.
Secondary specialized response:: Mental health professionals partner with law enforcement officers to provide on-scene crisis intervention and referral.
Background information:: With a change in our local mental health facility (state run) closing down, our community became saturated with persons who had previously been housed in more secure facilities. They now found themselves in community based housing, dependent on self-medication, and with little professional counseling. Officers became overrun with calls for service involving these individuals and an alternative was needed other than incarceration.
Total number of officers in program:: All
Number of people with mental illness served:: 51-100
Catchment area:: The entire jurisdiction
Funding source(s):: Local Mental Health Department
Staff supported by funding:: MH Service Provider (e.g. case manager, social worker)

Medical professional (e.g. nurse, doctor)

Existence of planning and oversight committee:: No (please proceed to question 17)
Written agreement of roles and procedures:: No
Recruitment and selection:: All are trained on resources available
Program coordinator/boundary spanner: No

Types of training on mental health issues:: Pre-service training for new recruits at the academy

4

Basic in-service training for all patrol officers

1

Basic in-service training for dispatchers and / or call takers

2

Standardized dispatch questions:: Not Sure
Dispatch documentation:: Not sure
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
Mental health professional available to support police responder:: Yes, on site (e.g. mobile crisis team)
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
Officers allowed to transport a person without handcuffs:: No
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?: No
Location of drop-off center(s):: General hospital emergency room
Length of time for drop-off and return to patrol:: More than 45 minutes

Data collection:: No
Published evaluation:: No
Local media coverage:: No
Legislative funding or support:: No
Key to the program's success:: We are dependent on the Mobile Crisis professionals to provide assistance to our officers, in assessment and in placement.

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