Milwaukee Crisis Intervention Team

Quick Facts:

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Milwaukk Police Department
Approximate number of officers in agency:
2000
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:
120

Milwaukee Crisis Intervention Team

Contact:

Name:
Anna Ruzinski
Organization:
Milwaukee Police Department
Address:
749 West State Street
Milwaukee, WI
Email:
aruzin@milwaukee.gov
Phone:
414-935-7203

Agency Information

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Milwaukk Police Department
Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
Township
Approximate number of officers in agency:
2000

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 program was born out of a Street Diversion Task Force consisting of Mental Health professionals, NAMI, Law enforcement, social program providers, etc. It was in the works for about a year and a half before training the first group of officers.The plan is to have 25% of the first responders trained within 3 yrs. Currently have 120 CIT officers.
Total number of officers in program:
120
Number of people with mental illness served:
More than 500
Catchment area:
The entire jurisdiction
Funding source(s):
  • Police Department
    • Staff supported by funding:

      Program Partners and Personnel

      Existence of planning and oversight committee:
      Yes, formerly
      Committee participants:
      • Law enforcement line-level staff
      • Law enforcement supervisory-level staff
      • Law enforcement leadership
      • 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:
      NAMI, Our Space, Transitional Living, VA, various shelters
      Written agreement of roles and procedures:
      No
      Recruitment and selection:
      Officers volunteer and some are selected.
      Program coordinator/boundary spanner
      We work collabratively with each entity taking on responsibilities
      same

      Training on Mental Health Issues

      Types of training on mental health issues:
    • Pre-service training for new recruits at the academy
    • 24
    • Basic in-service training for all patrol officers
    • 4
    • 4
    • Advanced in-service training for select patrol officers
    • 40
    • Advanced in-service training for dispatchers and / or call takers
    • 40
      • Number of officers who receive advanced training:
      101-200
      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
    • Ride-alongs
    • Videotapes
    • Virtual reality/computerized simulations of mental illness symptoms
      • Other information on training:
      The program is proving to be excellent for officers. We have received numerous compliments from consumers. They recognize CIT officers by the CIT pins they where above their name tags. Not once in over 200 contacts has a CIT officer had to combat with a consumer.

      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:
        Use of information on individuals' mental illness stored in police records:
        We have medical alerts for people who have been previously detained.
        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
        • 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:
        If they are a volenteer to seek mental health care and showed no violent behavior or past, officers have option to transport uncuffed, but only in a cage car.
        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
        Length of time for drop-off and return to patrol:
        More than 45 minutes

        Program Sustainability

        Data collection:
        Yes
        Published evaluation:
        No
        Local media coverage:
        When first class graduated, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal did an article on the program. Reporter Meg Kissenger is an advocate for people suffering from mental illness.
        Legislative funding or support:
        No
        Key to the program's success:
        There is the possiblity that someone from the University of Wi-Milwaukee will assist in evaluating the success of the program through the reports that CIT officers file.
        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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