Toledo Crisis Intervention Team

Quick Facts:

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Toledo Police Department
Approximate number of officers in agency:
688
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:
95

Toledo Crisis Intervention Team

Contact:

Name:
Beth A. Cooley
Title:
Planning and Research
Organization:
Toledo Police Department
Address:
525 N. Erie
Toledo, OH
Email:
beth.cooley@toledo.oh.gov
Phone:
419-245-3225

Agency Information

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Toledo Police Department
Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
Township
Approximate number of officers in agency:
688

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:
Each year, our department responds to approximately 1600 calls-for-service that involve a person with a mental illness. Quite often these calls resulted in the needless arrest of the indivudual, or injury to either the officer or the mentally ill person. Experience from other cities showed that arrests and injuries are significantly reduced when specially trained offers are available to respond to these incidents. For this reason, the Toledo Police Dpeartment Crisis Intervention Team was established.
Total number of officers in program:
95
Catchment area:
The entire jurisdiction
Funding source(s):
  • Police Department
  • Local Mental Health Department
    • Staff supported by funding:

      Program Partners and Personnel

      Existence of planning and oversight committee:
      No (please proceed to question 17)
      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
      Lt. Benjamin Tucker Toledo Police Department 525 N. Erie St. Toledo, OH 43604

      Training on Mental Health Issues

      Types of training on mental health issues:
    • Pre-service training for new recruits at the academy
    • 8
    • Advanced in-service training for select patrol officers
    • 40
    • 40
      • 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)
    • 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
      • 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

      • Response Procedures

      Standardized dispatch questions:
      No
      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
    • Record information on a form used only for mental health calls
      • Mental health professional available to support police responder:
    • Yes, remotely by telephone or dispatch (e.g. a crisis worker or psychiatric emergency room personnel)
      • 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?
      No
      Location of drop-off center(s):
    • Psychiatric emergency / crisis center
      • Length of time for drop-off and return to patrol:
      31-45 minutes

      Program Sustainability

      Data collection:
      No
      Published evaluation:
      Unknown
      Local media coverage:
      Unknown
      Legislative funding or support:
      unknown
      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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