Tucson Police Chosen To Teach Others On Mental Health Issues

TUCSON, AZ – The Tucson Police Department has had success in working with the mental health community to improve police response to people with mental health issues. The department will now get to share what they've learned works – and what doesn't – with other departments around the country.

The United States Department of Justice picked the department as one of four "National Law Enforcement Mental Health Learning Sites."

The department says that they "will assist other law enforcement agencies across the country in program development and implementation focused on improving positive outcomes for law enforcement, people struggling with mental illness, family and community members."

• Tucson Police say that they've taken a five-pronged approach to dealing with mental health issues:
• Mental Health Support Teams;
• Crisis Line/Mobile Crisis Teams;
• Crisis Response Center;
• Courts; and
• Continuum of Training.

For more information, on the Learning Sites, the Justice Center of the Council of State Governments – which helps run the program – has set up a website.

Photo via Tucson Police.