Georgetown Edition | June 2023

HEALTH CARE

2023 HEALTH CARE EDITION

CRISIS CALLS Since 2018, the Georgetown Police Department has seen an increase in calls for service related to a mental health incident.

Georgetown police chief aims to counter rise in mental health calls

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BY GRANT CRAWFORD

something we asked for, and it’s not something we think we’re best suited for, but right now, we’re it.” In summer 2021, the GPD pledged to the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s One Mind Campaign, which requires 100% of the department’s ocers to take a mental health rst aid class. It also requires at least 20% of the force to be trained in crisis inter- vention. As of mid-May, 53% of the department has received the training. In addition to partnering with local mental health organizations, Tchida said he plans to request $816,026 this year for a four-ocer unit to deal solely with mental health calls. “What it’s about is increasing our bandwidth to provide a continuity of services after the initial crisis—to work with that person, staying engaged in these people’s lives and their families’ lives to try to help have better mental health outcomes,” Tchida said.

Data showing a rise in mental health calls the Georgetown Police Depart- ment responds to “only scratches the surface” of issues ocers are facing, police Chief Cory Tchida said. The number of mental-health calls the GPD received jumped from 314 in 2019 to 654 in 2022. In the rst four months of 2023, GPD received 355 calls to respond to mental health crises. However, not all calls are recognized as mental health-related until after an ocer arrives at a scene, which Tchida said indicates the number of such incidents could be higher. His response has been to implement more ocer training in an eort to ll a gap in services. “We have been fundamentally failing the mentally ill since the 1970s,” Tchida said. “Unfortunately, American law enforcement ... has been on the front lines ever since. It’s not

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MONEY TO MENTAL HEALTH For the next scal year, Georgetown police Chief Cory Tchida plans to make a budget request to fund a unit dedicated to responding to mental health calls.

First-year cost of mental health unit: $816,026

Included in the cost:

Salaries for four ocers

Bene ts

Vehicles

Equipment

SOURCE: GEORGETOWN POLICE DEPARTMENTCOMMUNITY IMPACT

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GEORGETOWN EDITION • JUNE 2023