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St. Louis Area CIT Program
Quick Facts:
- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- St. Louis County Police Dept
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 800
- 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:
- 750 and still growing
St. Louis Area CIT Program
Contact:
- Name:
- Barry Armfield
- Title:
- CIT Coordinator
- Organization:
- St. Louis County Police Department
- Address:
- 7900 Forsyth
Clayton, MO - Email:
- barmfield@stlouisco.com
- Phone:
- 314-628-5509
Agency Information
- Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
- St. Louis County Police Dept
- Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
- Municipal
- Approximate number of officers in agency:
- 800
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:
- NAMI, ST. Louis brought the idea to ST. Louis in 2002. A Council with members from Mental Health Agencies, Law Enforcement, and Consumers and Families of consumers was created with a police chairman. Committees were developed for the training, Standard Operating Procedures, Provider Relations and Mental Health Court were started and the program was developed based on the Memphis Model. The Council sent 5 people to another jurisdiction's CIT training which helped with the training.
- Total number of officers in program:
- 750 and still growing
- Catchment area:
- More than one jurisdiction
- Funding source(s):
- Private foundation grant funding
- Staff supported by funding:
- Law Enforcement Officer
- MH Service Provider (e.g. case manager, social worker)
- Medical professional (e.g. nurse, doctor)
- 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
- 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:
- NAMI, Behavioral Health Response, Mental Health Association of St. Louis, MO Dept of Mental Health, publica nd Private hospitals
- Written agreement of roles and procedures:
- Yes
- Recruitment and selection:
- Some volunteer, some assigned
- Program coordinator/boundary spanner
- Yes. There are multiple program coordinators
- Same and: Richard Stevenson NAMI St. Louis 134 West Madison St. Louis, MO 63122
Training on Mental Health Issues
- Types of training on mental health issues:
-
- Pre-service training for new recruits at the academy
- 3
- Basic in-service training for select patrol officers
- 40
- Basic in-service training for dispatchers and / or call takers
- 8
- Advanced in-service training for select patrol officers
- 8
- Number of officers who receive advanced training:
- 550
- Groups who conducts advanced training:
-
- Police officers
- Mental health professionals (crisis workers)
- Consumers
- Advocates
- Family member of a person with mental illness
- Advanced training topics:
-
- Community resources (mental health services, etc.)
- Legal issues concerning individuals with mental illness
- Legal issues concerning police officer liability
- De-escalation techniques
- Advanced training methods:
-
- Presentations (including panels, lectures, and/or PowerPoints)
- Role plays
- Virtual reality/computerized simulations of mental illness symptoms
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:
- Record information on a form used only for mental health calls
- Use of information on individuals' mental illness stored in police records:
- Follow-up and evaluation
- Mental health professional available to support police responder:
-
- Yes, on site (e.g. mobile crisis team)
- Yes, remotely by telephone or dispatch (e.g. a crisis worker or psychiatric emergency room personnel)
- Yes, both on-site and remotely
- 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:
- Officers descretion
- Access to drop-off locations:
- No. (proceed to question 38)
- Procedure for streamlined intake and a "no refusal" policy for police referrals?
- No
- Drop-off center accepts people with co-occurring substance abuse disorders:
- No
- 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:
- St. Louis Post Dispatch West News Magazine
- Legislative funding or support:
- No
About this information:
A program representative provided this information details through a detailed survey.
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