Tulsa Advanced Mental Health Response Officer Program

Quick Facts:

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Tulsa Police Department
Approximate number of officers in agency:
780
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

Tulsa Advanced Mental Health Response Officer Program

Contact:

Name:
Tracie Crocker
Title:
Special Operations Team Commander
Organization:
Tulsa Police Department
Address:
600 Civic Center
Tulsa, OK
Email:
tcrocker@ci.tulsa.ok.us
Phone:
918 669-6863

Agency Information

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
Tulsa Police Department
Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
Township
Approximate number of officers in agency:
780

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:
TPD currently provides over 40 hours of MH training in the basic academy. The advanced class was developed to futher educate officer on how to appropriately handle calls dealing with the mentally ill.
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:
  • Law Enforcement Officer

    • Program Partners and Personnel

    Existence of planning and oversight committee:
    Yes, currently
    Committee participants:
  • Law enforcement leadership
  • Mental health (and/or substance abuse) supervisory-level staff
    • Mental health or advocacy agencies that participate in program:
    Family and Childrens Services, Mental health Association of Tulsa, Red Rock Behavioral, Laureate, Parkside, OU Pact, Shadow Mountain,
    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
    Captain Tracie Crocker Tulsa Police Department (918) 669-6863 office (918) 527-0032 Cell Phone

    Training on Mental Health Issues

    Types of training on mental health issues:
  • Pre-service training for new recruits at the academy
  • over 40 hours
  • Basic in-service training for all patrol officers
  • 2 hours a year
  • Basic in-service training for dispatchers and / or call takers
  • unknown
  • Advanced in-service training for select patrol officers
  • 40 hours
  • unknown
    • 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
  • 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
  • Videotapes
  • Virtual reality/computerized simulations of mental illness symptoms
    • Other information on training:
    Our advanced 40 hours school includes 20 police officers and 5 mental health professionals. The questions on this survey did not fit our program too closely. We work hand in hand with the mental health professionals in our community. The Mobile Crisis team (COPES) attends the class, helps teach part of the class. Several memebs of the community attend this class and help teach. We offer a wide variety of topics coverd by the appropriate person.

    Response Procedures

    Standardized dispatch questions:
    Not Sure
    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 in an arrest report
  • Record information in log maintained by mental health personnel at the crisis drop-off location or by some other mental health organization
    • Mental health professional available to support police responder:
  • 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
    • 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:
    It is the officers descetion. We encourage all officers to handcuff for officer safety concerns.
    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
    Drop-off center accepts people with co-occurring substance abuse disorders:
    Yes
    Length of time for drop-off and return to patrol:
    31-45 minutes

    Program Sustainability

    Data collection:
    Yes
    Published evaluation:
    Yes.
    Local media coverage:
    Tulsa World Newspaper Channel 6 KOTV TV
    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.

    If you are a representative of a similar program not yet listed in our database, please register and take the survey to contribute your information.

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