A police department in Illinois has launched a full-time behavioral health crisis team, a move designed to reduce the workload on officers and improve care for people experiencing mental health emergencies. The program pairs law enforcement with trained behavioral health professionals who respond to crisis calls together.
The model reflects a broader shift in how some local governments are approaching mental health emergencies. Rather than sending only police officers to calls involving psychological distress, co-responder programs place mental health workers alongside or in place of officers in situations where a clinical response may be more effective.
A similar program in Decatur County recently marked its one-year anniversary, according to a report by wtwcfox. The Decatur County sheriff noted the co-responder program as a milestone in the county's effort to better serve residents dealing with mental health crises. Officials in both cases have pointed to the programs as a way to connect people with appropriate care rather than routing them through the criminal justice system.
Supporters of the co-responder model say it can reduce repeat calls, free up officers for other duties, and connect people in crisis with longer-term services. The Illinois department's decision to make the team full-time rather than part-time signals a deeper commitment to the approach.
Details on call volume, staffing levels, and outcomes for the Illinois program were not immediately available, but the launch marks a formal expansion of behavioral health resources within the department's daily operations.
