WATCH: Arlington Police Chief Joins Middlesex Sheriff on 'Beyond the Badge'

ARLINGTON, MA—Arlington Police Chief Frederick Ryan joined Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian and Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas to discuss criminal justice reform during Thursday's edition of Beyond The Badge.

The discussion began involved everything from the role of police in our communities to the opioid epidemic. Chief Ryan began by speaking about how municipal police departments have moved away from an "us vs. them" mentality to departments working with the community.

"Municipal law enforcement agencies used to go about their mission, and it was really this 'us vs. them' relationship," Ryan said on Beyond the Badge." With the evolution of community policing and the leadership among many chiefs focusing on transparency. As organizations expose their underbelly to the community, it triggers a process of improvement."

Ryan later referred to a heroin distribution case that he had been briefed on, and stated that he wanted to ensure that social services were being provided to those purchasing the drugs.

"We are unwittingly creating a public health crisis in our community because we just took a supply out of the equation," Ryan stated."It's a perfect opportunity now to inject some public health services."

The discussion later turned towards the Arlington Police Department's gun buy-back event, as well as the detainment of offenders in municipal police departments. In addition, the discussion focused on how officers handle situations involving mental health crises.

"Police officers only have so many tools in their tool belt," Ryan stated."So we were arresting people for minor criminal offenses when they were in a mental health crisis. Now, under with a co-responder model, once the situation is stabilized, the clinician responds and begins to provide other alternatives to arrest."

The full episode can be viewed in the video above.