SPECIAL REPORT: Responding to people in crisis

UPDATE 5/11/2016 6 PM: Law enforcement officers have a lot to deal with these days. Some agencies are short-staffed because of budget cuts or recruiting challenges. Treatment and services for people with mental illnesses have also taken a hit. According to the State Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, law enforcement often has to pick up the slack.

Just a couple of months ago, a Department of Justice review found the Salinas Police Department wasn’t regularly training officers on how to effectively respond to people with mental health issues. As the department continues to work with the DOJ, KION decided to take a closer look at the training many local officers go through.

Several times a year, Monterey County’s Behavioral Health Department conducts Crisis Intervention Team training. It’s a 40-hour course designed to give officers an overview of some of the mental health crises they may face in the field.

“Help educate them on what folks that maybe have schizophrenia or are experiencing some sort of psychotic symptoms, how that impacts them and their ability to process information, listen to information, respond to commands if they’re being asked to do things,” Behavioral Health Forensic Sciences Manager Melanie Rhodes said. “Why it might take them a little bit longer to respond or they might appear as though they’re not listening or they might just have difficulty processing the information because they might be hearing voices.”

Rhodes teaches the courses, giving officers ways to de-escalate a situation. Some could be as simple as being aware of how lights and sirens can overwhelm a person or having only one officer deal with the person.

“I think allowing more time is very helpful, especially if somebody’s having rapid or racing thoughts or hearing voices or caught up in some sort of paranoia or delusional theme going on. It really helps to slow things down, to talk slower, to talk in a calm voice, supportive voice,” Rhodes said. “And to have that come through not only in how we’re speaking but also in our nonverbal behavior too, because so much of what we communicate comes through nonverbally as well.”

Salinas Police Officer Jeff Munoz is CIT-trained. He allowed KION to ride along during part of his shift. It wasn’t long before he was sent out on a call involving a possible mental health issue.

“So we went to a call of a welfare check on a 1 and 2-year-old babies,” Munoz said. “They thought the babysitter or people in the house were drunk or there was something, a mental issue, going on there.”

Turns out, the caregiver had been drinking too much and the children were given to another family member while she sobered up.

Some of the tools Munoz has learned include listening to what someone says, processing it and then repeating it.

“I find that when they know I’m listening to them and understanding them, they really will react to that,” Munoz said. “And I’ll actually talk about their mental illness, are they taking medication for it, and talk about it.”

It helps when Munoz has an idea of what he is walking into. Dispatchers play a critical role in relaying important details, details they get from people who call 911.

“If it’s obvious it’s law enforcement we ask if there are weapons involved, we ask if the perpetrator is still in the area or if they are gone, which way did they go, were they driving something, to describe as much as possible, the circumstances they’re walking into,” William Harry, the director of the County Emergency Communications Department, said.

From there, the officer can decide whether more resources are needed.

During a recent CIT training session, dispatchers were invited so they could see things from an officer’s point of view.

“The reason that we do it is so we get a better perspective from not only what we receive from the caller but also what we may expect when the law enforcement or whoever, the first responders out to the field, start asking us questions, we have a perspective of why they’re asking, what information is important to gather,” Harry said.

There’s been such a demand for CIT training, the Behavioral Health Department is offering more classes. One is happening this week, with 30 officers from departments in the South County, the Peninsula and the District Attorney’s Office.

“The chiefs are very committed to getting all of their officers trained, which is why they’ve asked us with Behavioral Health to help coordinate an additional academy this year,” Rhodes said. “These past years, we’ve had pretty much one or two a year and this year we’re having three.”

ORIGINAL POST:

A couple of months ago, a Department of Justice review found the Salinas Police Department wasn’t regularly training officers on how to effectively respond to people with mental health issues.

It’s a problem across the country, so KION is taking a close look at the training Central Coast officers go through.

Part of that training includes a 40-hour course designed to give officers an overview of some of the mental heath crises they might encounter. It’s called “Crisis Intervention Training.”

“It really helps to slow things down, to talk slower, to talk in a calm voice, a supportive voice,” Behavioral Health and Forensic Services Manager Melanie Rhodes said. Rhodes teaches CIT classes. “And to have that come through not only in how we’re speaking, but also in our nonverbal behavior too because so much of what we communicate comes through nonverbally as well,” she added.

Tune in Wednesday night for a special report by KION’s Mariana Hicks. She rides along with a CIT-trained Salinas police officer. The story airs at 6 and 11 p.m.