Another building block has been added to our community's response to mental health issues.
The Jefferson City Police Department last week provided an update on its Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) program, a specialized response to situations where mental illness is a factor.
Police Sgt. Joe Matherne, CIT coordinator, explained the training is designed to help responding officers identify and deal with people during a mental health crisis. Officers learn techniques to response appropriately and calm situations verbally, he said.
Matherne said people who suffer from mental illnesses typically are not violent, but they may require a different approach by responding officers.
"Historically," he said, "police have used the same physical authority and command tactics employed to take criminals into custody. These are not the best situations for a person in a mental health crisis."
The goal, Matherne said, is to avoid confrontation and prevent escalating tensions because, he said, jail "is not always the best place" for people with mental illnesses.
The CIT program was started locally about three months ago and follows establishment of mental health liaisons, a component of Gov. Jay Nixon's Strengthening Missouri's Mental Health Initiatives in 2013.
Ted Solomon, an employee of Pathways Community Health, serves as the liaison for Cole and four other Central Missouri counties. A role of the liaison is to work with local authorities to match people with appropriate mental health resources, treatment and insurance.
The training has resulted in reduced arrest rates and injuries for people with mental illness, which translates into tax savings because, as Solomon said, "it costs a lot more to incarcerate people than it does to treat them."
Another benefit has been reduced injury rates among officers.
Crisis Intervention Training is a more frugal, more compassionate and more appropriate law enforcement response to situations involving mental health issues.
Successful outcomes may not always make headlines, but that doesn't diminish their significance.