What Would You Do?
You are a patrol officer in Polk County. Having been with the department for three years, you are familiar with the challenges patrol officers face when dealing with people with mental illnesses. You used to work in the jail and are also aware of the difficulties of incarcerating people with mental illnesses. You are glad to hear that some new strategies for addressing these challenges are being considered. In a meeting of your entire department today, the police chief made a short presentation about the two alternatives being considered: the Crisis Intervention Team and the co-responder model. Discussions are taking place in small groups. Your group is split about 50/50. One individual notes that mental health professionals have no business being involved in policing and should not be partnered up with the police officers. He says, "We can handle them on our own and give them a referral for later." Another member of the group disagrees and says "It would be better to have the mental health people there because they can do a better job de-escalating the situation."
Another member of the group, a recent transfer from the much larger Hillsborough County, tells about how the departments in Tampa added the elements of both models about two years ago, and they've seen a noticeable reduction in their jail population with mental illness and reductions in both citizen and officer injuries from these types of calls.
-After about an hour of discussion, your police chief asks for a vote on which your department should support: the Crisis Intervention Team or the co-responder model. Which do you choose?

Question

What Would You Do?
You are a patrol officer in Polk County. Having been with the department for three years, you are familiar with the challenges patrol officers face when dealing with people with mental illnesses. You used to work in the jail and are also aware of the difficulties of incarcerating people with mental illnesses. You are glad to hear that some new strategies for addressing these challenges are being considered. In a meeting of your entire department today, the police chief made a short presentation about the two alternatives being considered: the Crisis Intervention Team and the co-responder model. Discussions are taking place in small groups. Your group is split about 50/50. One individual notes that mental health professionals have no business being involved in policing and should not be partnered up with the police officers. He says, "We can handle them on our own and give them a referral for later." Another member of the group disagrees and says "It would be better to have the mental health people there because they can do a better job de-escalating the situation." 
Another member of the group, a recent transfer from the much larger Hillsborough County, tells about how the departments in Tampa added the elements of both models about two years ago, and they've seen a noticeable reduction in their jail population with mental illness and reductions in both citizen and officer injuries from these types of calls.
-After about an hour of discussion, your police chief asks for a vote on which your department should support: the Crisis Intervention Team or the co-responder model. Which do you choose?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Answer of What Would You Do?
You are a patrol officer in Polk County. Having been with the department for three years, you are familiar with the challenges patrol officers face when dealing with people with mental illnesses. You used to work in the jail and are also aware of the difficulties of incarcerating people with mental illnesses. You are glad to hear that some new strategies for addressing these challenges are being considered. In a meeting of your entire department today, the police chief made a short presentation about the two alternatives being considered: the Crisis Intervention Team and the co-responder model. Discussions are taking place in small groups. Your group is split about 50/50. One individual notes that mental health professionals have no business being involved in policing and should not be partnered up with the police officers. He says, "We can handle them on our own and give them a referral for later." Another member of the group disagrees and says "It would be better to have the mental health people there because they can do a better job de-escalating the situation." 
Another member of the group, a recent transfer from the much larger Hillsborough County, tells about how the departments in Tampa added the elements of both models about two years ago, and they've seen a noticeable reduction in their jail population with mental illness and reductions in both citizen and officer injuries from these types of calls.
-After about an hour of discussion, your police chief asks for a vote on which your department should support: the Crisis Intervention Team or the co-responder model. Which do you choose?