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Area
Officers Complete 2014 Crisis Intervention Team Academy
Twenty
three law enforcement officers from Darke, Miami and Shelby Counties
completed the Crisis Intervention Team Academy April 28-May 1,
presented by the Tri-County Board of Recovery and Mental Health
Services.
Crisis
Intervention Team (CIT) Training is a nationally recognized program
that teaches law enforcement safe and effective approaches to
handling crisis incidents involving a mentally ill individual. The
intensive 4-day training is conducted under the instructional
supervision of local CIT-trained police officers, mental health
professionals, consumers, and family advocates and offers practical
techniques for de-escalating crisis situations.
CIT
Coordinator Jodi Long, Director of Clinical Services and Planning for
the Tri-County Board, said, "The CIT Academy and the companion
courses have been extremely successful. Officers tell us they now
feel better equipped to handle calls involving mental health crises,
and those of us involved with mental health services have a better
understanding of what the law enforcement officers deal with in the
field."
The
class of 2014 is the ninth law enforcement group to complete the
program in the Tri-County Board's service area, bringing the total
number of trained officers to 173. The training is underwritten by
the Tri-County Board's mental health levy, by grants from the Ohio
chapter of the National Alliance for Mental Illness, and by in-kind
donations of food by local vendors.
The
Tri-County Board also presents CIT companion courses for mental
health professionals, dispatchers, and teachers, among other groups.
For more information about the CIT Academy or companion courses, see
the Tri-County Board's website at
www.mdsadamhs.mh.state.oh.us/community
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