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Brain
disease or chemical imbalances of the brain,
sometimes referred to as mental illness, are the
number one disability in America.
It affects one out of four families.
Given that fact, it comes as no surprise
that 60% of most mental health consumers report
having contacts with law enforcement.
It
is commonly the policy of the Appleton Police
Department that persons displaying signs and or
symptoms of mental illness or severe emotional
distress shall be afforded dignified treatment.
The safety of the consumer, the officer or
the public will not be compromised in this effort.
Today,
law enforcement’s most efficient tool at
achieving this mission is through the use of the
“Memphis Model” of the Crisis Intervention
Team (CIT) approach.
The Appleton Police Department began
implementation of CIT in June 2004.
The CIT approach is a community effort
enjoining both the police and the community
together for common goals of safety, understanding
and service to the mentally ill and their
families. CIT
is recognized by Wisconsin’s DHFS as a “Best
Practice” for crisis intervention.
In
Appleton, the anchor agency behind the CIT
Initiative is NAMI Fox Valley, an affiliate of
NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (nami.org).
This partnership has been critical in
developing a more intelligent understanding and
safe approach to mental crisis incidents.
CIT
officers are patrol officers who volunteer to
receive special training in working with persons
with mental illness.
In addition to handling their regular
patrol duties, these officers are called upon to
respond to crisis calls that place officers face
to face with complex issues relating to mental
illness. The
specialized training the CIT officers receive is
under the instructional supervision of mental
health providers, family advocates, consumer
groups and experienced APD CIT officers.
Because of the training, CIT officers can,
with confidence, offer a more humane and calm
approach to the crisis resolution.
But
CIT is more than just training.
CIT is about doing the right thing for the
right reasons.
CIT recognizes a special population that
deserves special care, treatment and service.
CIT officers help identify persons in need
of community services, assists at getting them
connected to those resources and works at helping
to keep them connected.
These CIT officers play a key role in
reducing the likelihood of physical confrontations
and enhance the opportunity for better care.
There
are many benefits to the CIT Initiative:
-
Reduced
risk of injuries to consumers, public and officers
-
Reduction
in repeat contacts with mental health consumers
-
Reduction
of criminalization of those persons with mental
illness that come in contact with the criminal
justice system
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Enhanced working relationships with mental
health care providers in the community
-
Increased
involvement of the families and friends of the
mental health consumers
-
Reduction
in civil commitments through diversion to safe
& less restrictive settings
Reduction
in the costs of overall services through better
utilization of said services and diversion to less
costly services
By
bringing CIT to Appleton, the CIT officers will be
giving mental health consumers a sense of dignity. This dignity generates a new respect and outlook on both law
enforcement and the mental health care system.
This in turn will offer them something that
most consumers can always use a little bit more
of, Hope.
Some
of the accomplishments the CIT Initiative are
detailed below.
NAMI
Fox Valley, in conjunction with mental health care
professionals from throughout Wisconsin, as well
as select APD CIT officers, holds two 40-hour CIT
training sessions each year.
The seven sessions held thus far have
graduated 150 officers from across the State.
The initiative to bring CIT to Wisconsin
did not go unnoticed.
NAMI Wisconsin, located in Madison,
recognized the Appleton Police Department in 2005
with an Educators Award, which was presented at
the 2005 State NAMI Conference.
In addition, the Governor’s Office
recognized Michael Woody, a retired Lieutenant
from the Akron Ohio Police Department, for helping
to bring CIT to Wisconsin.
The
CIT Initiative has expanded beyond Appleton.
In January 2006, the Milwaukee Police
Department held its first ever CIT training
session. Two
of the key people facilitating the session at
Milwaukee PD are graduates of the Appleton CIT
training session.
They will be conducting several sessions
each year to achieve their department goal of 25%
of officers trained.
“Suburban departments” training
sessions are also being held at the Milwaukee
County Sheriff’s Department.
Thus far they have hosted four sessions
graduating more than 100 officers.
LaCrosse
held its first ever CIT training Session in
October 2006 graduating 19 CIT officers from the
area. Four
of the people involved in organizing CIT for the
LaCrosse area are graduates of the CIT training
sessions in Appleton.
Since October 2006 LaCrosse has trained
more than 60 officers in CIT.
Other Police agencies in WI are looking at
becoming “Memphis Model” CIT locations in
2009.
For
more information about CIT contact Officer John
Wallschlaeger at john.Wallschlaeger@appleton.org.
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