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Mayor Derek Slaughter said the Williamsport Bureau of Police officers along with social workers and emergency medical professionals will be working together and responding to mental health or co-occurring substance abuse situations.
With one out of every 10 calls for police involving a significant mental health or substance abuse situation, Slaughter said in a video interview that he is looking forward to a "hybrid team" of law enforcement officers and mental health and behavior crisis specialists responding to these types of calls, which are on the increase, according to police interviews.
City Bureau of Police Assistant Chief Jason Bolt shared the one-in-10 statistic before the City Council recently approved the agreement with Redka Behavior Services, which was hired under a two-year contract.
"We're very hopeful that is going to roll out in 2024 and we are making very good progress," Slaughter said. He added that Chief Justin Snyder and Bolt are working hard to roll out the team in 2024.
The cost for two years would be funded by a Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency grant, and not from any city dollars or general fund account, Slaughter said.
The agreement is for RBS to provide two licensed mental health professionals who will co-respond with officers on incidents in which individuals may be suffering from mental health illness, or co-occurring substance abuse.
Training of officers is part of the contract, which is on the city website.
For anyone listening to police scanners, it is evident that police are encountering an increasing number of individuals suffering from various forms of mental illnesses and co-occurring substance abuse problems.
The goal of this program is to incorporate a quicker mental health co-response, which will improve the experience and outcome for a person in a mental health crisis.
In some incidents, it is expected to provide a means of de-escalation, steps toward diversion of individuals from entering the criminal justice system and give these people a connection to the appropriate mental health services.
RBS officials say they are going to be giving officers tools on how to respond to people suffering from mental and behavioral health emergencies.
Part of RBS's role will be to train the officers on how to identify who is in a mental health crisis. A social worker and emergency medical service person will be on the scene with police.
The co-response initiative also is expected to free up other officers to respond to other emergencies throughout the city.