Police Alternatives Are Rising Across The US

In the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 alternatives to armed police responses are popping up across the country. Senator Nina Turner and Max Burns break it down on Unbossed.

Read more here

"Orange County recently received a $1.2 million grant to create a community care and response team for individuals with mental health illnesses who come into contact with law enforcement.

The grant was awarded by the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

The Orange County Criminal Justice Resource Department will administer the grant. Four social workers will be placed in departments throughout Orange County – the Orange County’s Sheriff's Office and the Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough police departments.

Caitlin Fenhagen, the director of the Orange County Criminal Justice Resource Department, said only law enforcement and emergency services can respond to 911 calls at the county level. Emergency dispatchers can route calls to local emergency services such as medical, fire and law enforcement agencies.

“Very frequently, law enforcement are the first to arrive on the scene of what may just be a behavioral health crisis," Fenhagen said. "And not only are they not trained with any real background in behavioral health – they do have some CIT training or mental health first aid – but it's very different."

There are limited actions that a law enforcement officer can do to provide assistance to an individual during mental health crises, Fenhagen said.

“Law enforcement has very little options other than to take somebody to the detention center where they can be removed from the street and incarcerated, or they could take them to the emergency room where they, very likely, will just walk right out and not get any treatment," Fenhagen said."

Follow Senator Turner on:

Campaign site

230309__UB06AlternativesToPoliceResponseRiseAcrossUS