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Psychiatric Emergency Response Team
Quick Facts:
- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- Psychiatric Emergency Response Team
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 2400
- Primary specialized response:
- Mental health professionals partner with law enforcement officers to provide on-scene crisis intervention and referral.
- Program start year:
- 2005 or earlier
- Total number of officers in program:
- 50
Psychiatric Emergency Response Team
Contact:
- Name:
- Robert Brunkk
- Title:
- Deputy Sheriff
- Organization:
- Psychiatric Emergency Response Team
- Address:
- 175 N. El Camino Real
Encinitas, CA - Email:
- Robert.Brunk@sdsheriff.org
- Phone:
- 760-966-3500
Agency Information
- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- Psychiatric Emergency Response Team
- Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
- Municipal
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 2400
Specialized Response Description
- Program start year:
- 2005 or earlier
- Primary specialized response:
- Mental health professionals partner with law enforcement officers to provide on-scene crisis intervention and referral.
- Secondary specialized response:
- There is only one specialized response program in the jurisdiction.
- Background information:
- As the result of several Officer involved shootings involving mentally ill persons, County Mental Health provided a contract to PERT Inc. for Clinicians to work with LE agencies in the county. The clinicians are paired with Officer / Deputies in patrol cars and respond to 911 crisis calls and referrals from Officers / Deputies. The program is still expanding.
- Total number of officers in program:
- 50
- Catchment area:
- More than one jurisdiction
- Funding source(s):
- Local Mental Health Department
- Staff supported by funding:
- Medical professional (e.g. nurse, doctor)
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
- Family members of consumers
- Advocates
- Mental health or advocacy agencies that participate in program:
- County Mental Health / PERT advisory Council
- 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
- Jim Fix PERT Executive Director 619-276-0865
Training on Mental Health Issues
- Types of training on mental health issues:
-
- Pre-service training for new recruits at the academy
- 16
- Basic in-service training for all patrol officers
- 4 every four years
- Advanced in-service training for select patrol officers
- 8 a month
- 20
- Number of officers who receive advanced training:
- 51-100
- Groups who conducts advanced training:
-
- Police officers
- Mental health professionals (crisis workers)
- Medical professionals (doctors or nurses)
- Advocates
- 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:
- Training is conducted once a month for Clinicians, Officers / Deputies that work together in patrol
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:
- Relay information to dispatch who records it in general computer database used for all calls, such as a Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system
- Use of information on individuals' mental illness stored in police records:
- No specific information about a persons mental ilness is stored by LE. CAD does keep a record of the type of calls associated with an address ie: Previous calls to the address for family disturbace, mentall illness, runaway juvenile, ect
- 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:
- Voluntary transport to a facility for treatment
- 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
- Psychiatric emergency room in general hospital
- Drop-off center accepts people with co-occurring substance abuse disorders:
- Yes
- Length of time for drop-off and return to patrol:
- More than 45 minutes
Program Sustainability
- Data collection:
- Yes
- Published evaluation:
- Unknown if published. Statistics are kept by PERT Inc 619-276-0865.
- Local media coverage:
- No
- Legislative funding or support:
- Ca. Prop 63
About this information:
A program representative provided this information details through a detailed survey.
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