“This is going to be very positive for law enforcement because it does two things: One it frees up the police officers so they can do police work, so they can go out there and look for the burglars, robbers, things that we are trained and know how to do. And the other part of it is, we are getting healthcare professionals who can help law enforcement help people through their crisis … when people are calling 911 and they are going through a mental crisis then we can send a professional there to help them through their mental crisis instead of just sending an officer there with a badge and a gun.”

For context: San Diego County has 16 mobile crisis teams responding to calls involving acute mental health crises. Each team includes a mental health clinician and two other healthcare experts. The two authors of this opinion piece are the director of the city’s Health and Human Services Agency and the director of the agency’s Behavioral Health Services Division. They help oversee the county’s mobile crisis response program.

Over the past two years, mobile crisis response units have transformed from theoretical idea to functioning program in cities across the country. Here are two key findings from a new national Safer Cities survey that capture the widespread public support these programs continue to enjoy.

Mental health crises, including suicide, have risen significantly on college campuses over the past decade. But a police response can inadvertently heighten trauma for students, healthcare professionals say. That’s why a number of universities are launching mobile crisis outreach teams, led by mental health experts, to serve as first responders for students in crisis.

Scaling public safety programs, reducing crime with mental health care, second-chance hiring, and effective safe consumption sites.

988 is not just a more user-friendly crisis hotline, but a catalyst for a desperately needed transformation in how the country responds to acute mental health issues.

West Hollywood, California voted recently to expand its security ambassadors program, adding 30 unarmed, uniformed ambassadors to the street in an attempt to deter crime and make residents feel safer. These ambassadors cost the city significantly less per person than an armed officer—roughly 5 to 1—while serving the same “eyes on the street” function that can deter crime. And they will even help you change your flat tire.

A handful of cities–including Austin, Texas–are bringing mental health experts into 911 call centers so that dispatchers know which responder to send to provide “the right care, at the right place, at the right time.”

A new Denver, Colorado mobile crisis response program that sends healthcare experts instead of armed police officers to situations where people are experiencing a mental health crisis significantly reduces both crime and costs.

Our survey results show that voters overwhelmingly support sending medical professionals instead of armed officers to mental health and homelessness related emergency service calls, and they also support the concrete step of creating new public agencies to carry out these services.

The chasm that exists between how the police spend their time and how likely voters think the police should spend their time presents a looming crisis in legitimacy for law enforcement.

An overwhelming bipartisan majority of Americans support using money from the American Rescue Plan to fund community violence intervention programs.