Three Things To Read This Week
1. San Diego County Update—“Mobile Crisis Response Teams have responded to nearly 3,600 calls since the program launched two years ago.”
“The spirit and timing of A.C.S.’s creation, nearly three years ago, conjured a vision of greater public safety in Albuquerque, including increased protection of its residents from police,” Murat Oztaskin writes in his feature on the city’s much-lauded “third branch of public safety.”
Writing for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Tammy Murga and Lauren Mapp, report that:
The mobile crisis response unit has grown to “about 30 teams, each with three members [including “mental health clinicians, case managers and peer support specialists”], operating anywhere in the county at all hours of the day.”
In addition to “mental health emergencies from people suffering from bipolar disorder or schizophrenia or feeling suicidal,” the team is also handling types of cases that no one contemplated at launch, including “mothers experiencing postpartum depression,” “parents whose children have physically assaulted them,” and “combative loved ones with dementia.”
The biggest complaint about San Diego’s mobile crisis responders seems to be that there aren’t enough of them: “Law enforcement agencies said crisis teams are proving to be an invaluable resource, but [police] departments are still handling the bulk of behavioral health emergencies. Agencies like National City police and the Sheriff’s Department said [that] having more [mobile crisis response teams] could help shoulder the tens of thousands of calls they receive per year.”
Related: Columbus, Ohio, is creating a new unarmed “non-police response unit” to respond to calls related to “mental health emergencies, substance use-related issues and unsheltered people needing help.” The city already has a co-responder unit that sends both a police officer and a social worker to similar calls. However, as Columbus city council President Shannon Hardin told the local NBC affiliate, “expecting law enforcement to answer every call on every issue from homelessness to mental health and addiction is too much to ask.”
2. More Momentum For Crisis Stabilization Centers:
A new crisis stabilization center opens in Birmingham, Alabama. As the Birmingham Fox News affiliate reports, “prior to having a crisis center, police who responded to calls would either take those experiencing an emergency to the ER or the jail. Now they will take them to the crisis center [...] The center will have 32 temporary beds and 16 extended stay beds. Following their stay, [patients] will be connected with community partners to continue their care.”
A ballot measure in King County, Washington, which encompasses Seattle, would fund and create five new crisis stabilization centers. The county council voted unanimously to put the measure on the ballot. As the Seattle Times reports, “the centers are intended to serve as a one-stop location for anyone who needs behavioral health help, whether they’re coming by themselves, or are brought by a family member or police.” This would be a significant departure from the status quo given that, “today, people experiencing an urgent mental health crisis [...] often end up in hospital emergency rooms or in jail.”
3. These Cities Are Trying To Take Police Out Of Traffic Stops:
The Marshall Project’s Jamiles Lartey highlights examples of lawmakers around the country wrestling with the role of police officers in traffic enforcement after Memphis police officers killed Tyre Nichols:
“[The] Memphis City Council is considering proposals that would limit police authority to conduct traffic stops, and require officers to use clearly marked police vehicles during those stops. [...] Under the proposed ordinance, officers who suspect a person is driving recklessly would still be able to stop a vehicle, but could not make stops for lesser violations, like a recently expired registration, improperly displayed license plate or a missing headlight.” Memphis would join “cities like Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco that have halted such traffic stops.”
“Berkeley, California, received national attention in 2020 for a plan to remove officers from traffic enforcement and replace them with cameras and unarmed civilians. So far, that promise has been stymied by state law, [but] New York Congressman Ritchie Torres proposed a $100 million grant program that would give money to cities that adopt a similar strategy for traffic enforcement.”
Lartey also highlights three examples of police departments experimenting with how officers engage (or don’t) with motorists:
“In Oakland, rather than restricting police authority, a Stanford University researcher examined the impact of adding a checkbox to routine paperwork that would force officers to think harder about whether a traffic stop is necessary. Her study found that this approach reduced stops involving Black drivers by 43%.”
“In Windcrest City, Texas, police recently launched a ‘trusted driver’ program that lets officers ticket drivers electronically, without pulling them over.”
“In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, police recently joined a program where, instead of issuing citations for vehicle equipment violations, they can instead offer motorists a $250 voucher to have the problem repaired.”
