Earlier this month, officers from the Shawano Police Department, Shawano County Sheriff’s Office, Shawano County Jail, Shawano County Dispatch, Menominee Tribal Police Department, Black Creek Police Department and Clintonville Police Department completed a five-day crisis intervention team (CIT) training hosted by the Shawano Police Department at Shawano Community High School.
Shawano Police Officers Sam Ferg-Meshnick and Officer Mequon Frechette organize and run this class. This is the fourth year this class has been held in Shawano.
There is a lack of mental health crisis services across the United States. Because of this, law enforcement officers are serving as first responders to most crisis type situations. A CIT program is an innovative, community-based approach to improve the outcomes of these encounters.
During this training, officers learned about major mental illnesses, how to identify people in crisis and how to de-escalate situations they may come to face as well as improving responses to people in crisis. This training also helped officers improve their communication ability and learn how to better identify mental health resources for assisting people in crisis as well as keeping them out of jail.
CIT can reduce arrests of people with mental illness while increasing the likelihood that individuals will receive mental health services.
CIT programs create connections among law enforcement, mental health providers, hospital emergency services and individuals with mental illness and their families. Through collaborative community partnerships and intensive training, CIT improves communication and identifies mental health resources for those in crisis and ensures officer and community safety.
Research shows that CIT is associated with improved officer attitude and knowledge about mental illness.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), CIT programs give officers more tools to do their job safely and effectively. Research shows that CIT is associated with improved officer attitude and knowledge about mental illness.
The training also helps keep law enforcement’s focus on crime. Some communities have found that CIT has reduced the time officers spend responding to a mental health call. This puts officers back into the community more quickly.
CIT training can produce cost savings. It’s difficult to estimate exactly how much diversion programs can save communities. But incarceration is costly compared to community-based treatment.
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