Social workers to be embedded with Minneapolis police precincts

[bnew]

Social workers to be embedded with Minneapolis police precincts

The Minneapolis City Council approved the program Thursday to help MPD respond to mental health and addiction issues.

www.cbsnews.com

MINNEAPOLIS – Social workers are coming to the Minneapolis Police Department.

It's part of a program the city council approved Thursday to help MPD respond to mental health and addiction issues.

A Hennepin County social worker will be embedded in each of the five precincts, working in tandem with officers, starting in December.

"I think it's wonderful," said Adesola Oni with Hennepin County Criminal Justice Behavioral Health. "The police-embedded social workers are part of a larger system strategy to support mental health needs in our communities."

Oni says the social workers will begin with following up on cases referred to them by officers. They'll reach out to people officers encounter on calls and get them help.


"The social workers will prevent repeat calls," Oni said. "We bring a culturally-informed expertise and specialized resources based on individual needs."

CBS
The program's already in place in more than a dozen suburban departments, including in Brooklyn Park.

BPPD Inspector Elliot Faust says they intend to have social workers responding to calls on their own by the end of the year.

"When a 911 call comes in, the dispatcher will vet through whether or not the police really need to go," Faust said.


He admits that mental health calls are not in most officers' wheelhouse, but they're becoming more and more common.

"It's getting those folks connected to the help that has been the challenge for many, many years," he said. "I think this is the best way that we've found to make that connection."

In 2020, when social workers first embedded with BPPD, they made contact with people in 405 cases and connected them with services.

"They have a different perspective that they're bringing to the work, which is different from what law enforcement officers are also doing," Oni said. "And both are needed, however it's perhaps needed separately."

The county and MPD are now hiring for the five positions.

 

[bnew]

 

[bnew]

 

[mson]

I like this idea. I'm interested to see the results.

 

[Estarossa]

This is definitely a step in the right direction… regular cops aren’t trained to deal with the mentally ill in any capacity.

 

[bnew]

I like this idea. I'm interested to see the results.

a couple of places have seen promising results since they implemented similar programs.

 

[bnew]

484 views Oct 5, 2022
The Sheriff's Office ignored a Grand Jury's recommendation to increase mental health resources. Two years later, deputies shot and killed Christian Glass.

somebody else had to die for them to finally do the sensible thing


EDIT: more about the guy

 

[The_Truth]

It's about damn time.

 

[NatiboyB]

What is having a social worker at the police station supposed to do shyt they will probably just be in the admin HR office and only come out when training or something needs to occur.

 

[bnew]

What is having a social worker at the police station supposed to do shyt they will probably just be in the admin HR office and only come out when training or something needs to occur.

"When a 911 call comes in, the dispatcher will vet through whether or not the police really need to go," Faust said.

A lot of these programs are modelled after the CAHOOTS program thats been working for decades. they in the trenches.




The CAHOOTS programme been operating for 30 years in Eugene, Oregon. It's operated for so long because it works.

What is CAHOOTS? - White Bird Clinic

NPR Cookie Consent and Choices

This US city sends mental health workers instead of police to non-criminal emergency calls

snippet:

The city of Eugene, Oregon, takes a different approach. For 30 years, the CAHOOTS (Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets) programme has been sending teams of unarmed civilians to deal with 911 calls that elsewhere are dealt with by police.

Each team consists of a mental health crisis worker and an EMT (emergency medical technician, or paramedic). Between them, they have the skills and training to deal with mental health issues, homelessness, intoxication, substance abuse, disorientation and dispute resolution.

The programme developed from the work of the White Bird Clinic, a collective founded in 1970 that originally had strong links to counterculture activists, and now provides a range of health, education and community support services.

When 911 calls are assessed by dispatchers, any situations involving violence or criminal activity are routed straight to the police, while CAHOOTS is called in when their expertise is likely to lead to a better outcome. In 2019, CAHOOTS responded to 24,000 calls, and only required back-up from police 150 times.

Savings for the Eugene Police Department from diverting calls to CAHOOTS.
Image: White Bird Clinic
'Symbiotic relationship'

Eugene’s police department acknowledges that the CAHOOTS teams are often far better equipped to deal with situations where a police response is not the best option. Eugene Police Chief Chris Skinner told CNN the two organizations have a “symbiotic relationship”.

“When they show up, they have better success than police officers do. We’re wearing a uniform, a gun, a badge – it feels very demonstrative for someone in crisis.”

CAHOOTS services are voluntary and free of charge, funded by the city. The group claims it has saved the Eugene Police Department an average of $8.5 million a year in call-outs that would otherwise be handled by their officers – leaving the police to concentrate on law enforcement instead.

 

[bnew]

these types of programs should get federal funding to encourage more municipalities to adopt them.

 

[Kenny West]

This is a good change. Props to Minnesota for stepping up to build trust in that community

 

[boskey]

This should be the norm. Even if they don't go on calls. At least giving them a voice in the department is a positive step

 

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