Utah Crisis Intervention Team

Quick Facts:

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
All Utah law enforcement agencies.
Approximate number of officers in agency:
Statewide = 10,000
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:
459

Utah Crisis Intervention Team

Contact:

Name:
Ron Bruno
Title:
CIT State Program Director
Organization:
All Utah law enforcement agencies.
Address:
315 East 200 South
Salt Lake City, UT
Email:
CIT@slcgov.com
Phone:
801-799-3709

Agency Information

Name of coordinating law enforcement agency:
All Utah law enforcement agencies.
Type of government that operates law enforcement agency:
State State, County, Municipal, School District, and Federal.
Approximate number of officers in agency:
Statewide = 10,000

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:
The Salt Lake City Police Department teamed with State and local agencies to form a committee in 2000. This committee reviewed law enforcement's response to calls for service involving mental health issues. The Memphis Police Department's CIT program was selected by the committee to become the State of Utah's model. Local officers were sent to Memphis to be trained as CIT Coordinators and returned to begin Utah's CIT Program in April of 2001.
Total number of officers in program:
459
Catchment area:
More than one jurisdiction
Funding source(s):
  • Police Department
  • Sheriff's Department
  • Local Mental Health Department
  • State Mental Health Authority
  • Private foundation grant funding
    • Staff supported by funding:
    • Program Coordinator

    Program Partners and Personnel

    Existence of planning and oversight committee:
    Yes, formerly
    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 - Utah, Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, Local Mental Health Authorities.
    Written agreement of roles and procedures:
    No
    Recruitment and selection:
    Selection process varies by agency.
    Program coordinator/boundary spanner
    Yes. There are multiple program coordinators
    Same.

    Training on Mental Health Issues

    Types of training on mental health issues:
  • Pre-service training for new recruits at the academy
  • 8 hours
  • Advanced in-service training for select patrol officers
  • 40 hours
  • Advanced in-service training for dispatchers and / or call takers
  • 40 hours
    • Number of officers who receive advanced training:
    However, State CIT Certification is for two years. Some officers opted to not recertify or discontinued their carreers in law enforcement.
    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
    • 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:
    For further information regarding the Crisis Intervention Team of Utah program, please visit the following website: www.slcgov.com/police/specialized/cit.htm

    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
    • Record information on a form used only for mental health calls
    • Record information in a field encounter form, or other form used to document every citizen encounter
    • 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
    Use of information on individuals' mental illness stored in police records:
    To assist officers with intervention and disposition of calls for service or follow-up by investigators.
    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:
    If the person is not in custody and there is not a threat. However, this varies by agency.
    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):
  • General hospital emergency room
    • Length of time for drop-off and return to patrol:
    21-30 minutes

    Program Sustainability

    Data collection:
    Yes
    Published evaluation:
    No
    Local media coverage:
    Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News, Provo Daily Herald, St. George Spectrum, KTVX News, KSL TV News, KUTV News.
    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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