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Portland Crisis Intervention Team
Quick Facts:
- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- Portland Police Bureau
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 900
- 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:
- We are now making the training mandatory -- so all will participate.
Portland Crisis Intervention Team
Contact:
- Name:
- Sara Westbrook
- Title:
- Lieutenant
- Organization:
- Portland Police Bureau
- Address:
- 1111 SW 2nd Ave
Portland, OR - Email:
- swestbrook@portlandpolice.org
- Phone:
- 503-823-2903
Agency Information
- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- Portland Police Bureau
- Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
- Regional
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 900
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 providers, often as members of a mobile crisis team, are called in by law enforcement to provide crisis intervention at the scene.
- Background information:
- We started in 1995 and modeled after Memphis Tennessee's Crisis Intervention Team (CIT). Within 6 months the program was operational and approximately 80 police officers had completed the 40 hour training.
- Total number of officers in program:
- We are now making the training mandatory -- so all will participate.
- Catchment area:
- The entire jurisdiction
- Funding source(s):
- Police 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 line-level staff
- Law enforcement supervisory-level staff
- Mental health (and/or substance abuse) supervisory-level staff
- Mental health (and/or substance abuse) leadership
- Consumers of mental health services
- Family members of consumers
- Mental health or advocacy agencies that participate in program:
- Cascadia Behavioral Health, Oregon Advocacy Center, NAMI, ARC
- Written agreement of roles and procedures:
- No
- Recruitment and selection:
- The program was voluntary until 2007, now it is mandatory
- Program coordinator/boundary spanner
- Yes. The program coordinator represents a law enforcement agency
- Position is currently posted to be filled.
Training on Mental Health Issues
- Types of training on mental health issues:
-
- 16 hours
- varies
- varies
- unknown
- Advanced in-service training for all patrol officers
- 40 hours
- 40 hours
- unknown
- 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
- Advanced training topics:
- Recognizing symptoms of mental illness, and clinical issues
- Co-occurring disorders
- Psychiatric medications
- Community resources (mental health services, etc.)
- 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
- Videotapes
- Virtual reality/computerized simulations of mental illness symptoms
- Other information on training:
- It has proved to be very valuable.
Response Procedures
- Standardized dispatch questions:
- Not Sure
- Dispatch documentation:
- Not sure
- Incident documentation by responding officer:
- Record information on a form used only for mental health calls
- Use of information on individuals' mental illness stored in police records:
- The mental health information is only gathered if the person is placed on a police officer hold or a mental health directors hold. Next to the persons name in our data base will indicate if a hold has been placed. No specific use of the information other than background/history for the responding officer.
- 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:
- No
- Access to drop-off locations:
- Yes. It is open during normal business hours only.
- Procedure for streamlined intake and a "no refusal" policy for police referrals?
- No
- Location of drop-off center(s):
- 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:
- The Oregonian newspaper has written articles from time to time.
- 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.
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