Lake County Crisis Intervention Team

Quick Facts:

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Lake County Sheriffs Office
Approximate number of officers in agency:
260
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:
20

Lake County Crisis Intervention Team

Contact:

Name:
Jerry Manesis
Title:
NAMI Rep
Organization:
Lake County Sheriffs Office
Address:
33417 Pennbrooke Pkwy
Leesburg, FL
Email:
jerrymanesis@aol.com
Phone:
352-787-3666

Agency Information

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Lake County Sheriffs Office
Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
Municipal
Approximate number of officers in agency:
260

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:
CIT took about 1 year to become operational. It began when I attended a Florida NAMI conference in November 2004.
Total number of officers in program:
20
Number of people with mental illness served:
51-100
Catchment area:
More than one jurisdiction
Funding source(s):
  • Sheriff's Department
  • Community Mental Health Service Provider
  • Private foundation grant funding
  • Staff supported by funding:

      Program Partners and Personnel

      Existence of planning and oversight committee:
      Yes, currently
      Committee participants:
    • Law enforcement supervisory-level staff
    • Mental health (and/or substance abuse) supervisory-level staff
    • Family members of consumers
    • Mental health or advocacy agencies that participate in program:
      NAMI & LIfestreams
      Written agreement of roles and procedures:
      No
      Recruitment and selection:
      Officers volunteer and some are selected.
      Program coordinator/boundary spanner
      Yes. The program coordinator represents a law enforcement agency

      Training on Mental Health Issues

      Types of training on mental health issues:
    • Advanced in-service training for select patrol officers
    • 40
    • Advanced in-service training for dispatchers and / or call takers
    • 8
    • 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
    • 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:
    • 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:
      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?
      Yes
      Location of drop-off center(s):
    • Psychiatric emergency / crisis center
    • 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:
      No
      Published evaluation:
      No
      Local media coverage:
      No
      Legislative funding or support:
      No
      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.

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