Indianapolis is rolling out a new approach to handling calls involving people having mental health crises with the launch of a unified response team.
The team is a collaboration between the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD), Fire Department (IFD), and EMS. The new team aims to ensure people having a mental health crisis receive appropriate care while reducing the reliance on law enforcement, WISH reports.
Previously, mental health crises were handled by specialized teams. However, when these teams were unavailable, police officers were often called to respond, which was not always ideal.
The unified response team will now operate 24/7, with police providing safety oversight while fire and EMS personnel handle mental health interventions. Dispatchers will assess calls to determine if they are mental health-related, and the appropriate team will respond with the unified response team serving as backup if a more specialized team is not available.
The city hopes the result will be individuals experiencing a mental health crisis will be transported to hospitals for treatment instead of jail.
