Northbrook, Sheriff's Office Partner Up For Mental Health

NORTHBROOK, IL — Last week, the Northbrook Police Department became the third local law enforcement agency in the county to utilize the Cook County Sheriff’s Treatment Response Team Co-responder Virtual Assistance Program, which provides mental health co-response to police officers when they respond to calls involving mental health crises.

The agreement expands the social and mental health services that Northbrook Police have been providing residents for more than four decades, according to Sheriff Thomas J. Dart.

“We are excited to partner with the Northbrook Police Department, which for years has understood the importance of addressing the mental health needs of the people they serve,” Dart said. “Historically, law enforcement agencies have primarily focused on the immediate criminal or public safety concern, with less concern about the underlying causes that have led to the immediate crisis."

Northbrook officers are now able to utilize the CVAP to connect distressed individuals with TRT mental health workers and clinicians via video conferencing on an electronic tablet or by phone. TRT staff will then connect these individuals with staff from the Northbrook Police Department’s Counseling Services Unit, who will continue to work with these clients to engage them with appropriate services and resources.

During normal business hours, CSU staff will assist Northbrook officers with mental health calls.

“Northbrook has been and continues to be a police department laser-focused on providing the
highest level of caring concern and service to the community,” Northbrook Chief of Police
Christopher Kennedy said. “This partnership is the perfect complement to our longstanding imbedded professional counseling care, which has been part of our department for over 40 years now.”

With the addition of Northbrook, CVAP is now available to officers serving approximately 240,000
Cook County residents. CCSO has also been in conversation with other municipal police agencies who are exploring the use of the program for their officers.

Mental health calls for service have steadily increased and are only expected to continue to rise in the wake of the isolation and stress many people have experienced during the pandemic, according to CCSO. In 2018, Sheriff’s Police responded to 1,712 calls for service involving mental health. In 2021, the number of calls exceeded 3,000 and, in the first two months of 2022, calls have outpaced those for the same period last year.