CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

EC police enhance crisis intervention training

Leader-Telegram - 12/20/2020

Dec. 19—EAU CLAIRE — The Eau Claire Police Department this year has expanded its crisis intervention program to better work with people with mental illness.

As of Friday, the Police Department has responded to 1,347 mental health calls in 2020, which is about 5% of the department's total calls for service.

And countless other police service calls contain some type of mental health component, said Sgt. Bridget Coit, who oversees the crisis intervention program for the Police Department.

"This year we expanded crisis intervention training within our department," she said. "We strive for quality training so we can keep current on mental health issues."

The Police Department in August assigned 16 officers to its crisis intervention training team. "We are really putting an emphasis on it," Coit said of the mental health training.

Eau Claire police first started crisis intervention training in 2012. All officers must complete a 40-hour course. The Police Department has shared that training program with other area law enforcement agencies, Coit said.

"Training is so beneficial," she said. "Outside agencies have helped us to show us what we should be looking for when we go to a scene to better diagnose what is going on. The goal is to get people the help they need."

One of the outside agencies the Police Department has used for assistance in their training is the National Alliance on Mental Illness Chippewa Valley.

Barb Habben, education program coordinator for NAMI Chippewa Valley, said NAMI has partnered with the Police Department for the past five years on their training program.

"Dealing with families with mental illness is common for law enforcement," she said. "We want to teach police officers to better communicate with someone who has a mental illness."

Greg Habben, president of NAMI Chippewa Valley, said his organization fills a void.

"It just really makes a difference for families to have a place to come to for education. We want to continue to support families," he said.

"We're so happy the police have supported this training," Greg Habben said.

"It's important for our community to have crisis intervention training available for our officers," he said.

The training provides education, insight and techniques to help de-escalate a situation, Greg Habben said.

Besides NAMI Chippewa Valley, the Police Department also works with Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire, UW-Eau Claire and the Eau Claire County Department of Human Services to coordinate its crisis intervention training, Coit said.

"As our program expands, our partnerships in the community will expand," she said. "The focus will allow for additional consumer safety. Our goal is to try to redirect people from the judicial system to the medical system.

___

(c)2020 the Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.)

Visit the Leader-Telegram (Eau Claire, Wis.) at www.leadertelegram.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.