In times of crisis, fear, or emergency, for many, the first thought is calling 911, but 911 centers like Metro Safe often field calls where police are not the best option.”The police officer is not always the best instrument for that, so having the opportunity to have mental health specialists to be able to help people in crisis is going to be fantastic,” said David James, Metro Council president.James, a former LMPD officer, knows this all too well.”It will free up officers to be able to do other things on the street. It will also make everybody safer in the long run,” James said.Mayor Greg Fischer agrees with the benefits.”It’s a deflection model that deflects away from criminalizing, or not giving proper assistance to mental health issues,” Fischer said.Fischer debuted the pilot program Wednesday, aimed at not sending police to all 911 calls.”In the model, we envision a behavioral health hub within the Metro Safe 911 call center. When a call is made to 911 and identified as potentially appropriate for a ‘DOVE’ — Diversion Options Voice and Employment — delegate’s response. Call center staff will transfer the call to the behavioral health hub for further triage,” Dr. Susan Buchino, assistant professor of public health of UofL.The city is partnering with UofL, Seven Counties Services and Spaulding University, which has been researching the best practices since February. Officials say it’s definitely not one-size-fits-all.Louisville’s pilot program is a result of studying several other cities already using a deflection model, using parts of each to fit the needs of the metro.The initial phase of the program will see the city starting small with delegates operating in LMPD’s 4th division and focusing only on crisis intervention 911 calls.And after analyzing 40,000 911 calls made between 2019-2021, routed the 4th division, they found as many as 29,000 could have been rerouted.”It’s long overdue, it’s something that many council members have wanted for some time now, so I know that they are actually glad we are at the point where we say Dec. 1, we are going to do this, we’re very excited,” James said. “It could save lives.”And also help the goal of police better using their limited workforce.
In times of crisis, fear, or emergency, for many, the first thought is calling 911, but 911 centers like Metro Safe often field calls where police are not the best option.
“The police officer is not always the best instrument for that, so having the opportunity to have mental health specialists to be able to help people in crisis is going to be fantastic,” said David James, Metro Council president.
James, a former LMPD officer, knows this all too well.
“It will free up officers to be able to do other things on the street. It will also make everybody safer in the long run,” James said.
Mayor Greg Fischer agrees with the benefits.
“It’s a deflection model that deflects away from criminalizing, or not giving proper assistance to mental health issues,” Fischer said.
Fischer debuted the pilot program Wednesday, aimed at not sending police to all 911 calls.
“In the model, we envision a behavioral health hub within the Metro Safe 911 call center. When a call is made to 911 and identified as potentially appropriate for a ‘DOVE’ — Diversion Options Voice and Employment — delegate’s response. Call center staff will transfer the call to the behavioral health hub for further triage,” Dr. Susan Buchino, assistant professor of public health of UofL.
The city is partnering with UofL, Seven Counties Services and Spaulding University, which has been researching the best practices since February. Officials say it’s definitely not one-size-fits-all.
Louisville’s pilot program is a result of studying several other cities already using a deflection model, using parts of each to fit the needs of the metro.
The initial phase of the program will see the city starting small with delegates operating in LMPD’s 4th division and focusing only on crisis intervention 911 calls.
And after analyzing 40,000 911 calls made between 2019-2021, routed the 4th division, they found as many as 29,000 could have been rerouted.
“It’s long overdue, it’s something that many council members have wanted for some time now, so I know that they are actually glad we are at the point where we say Dec. 1, we are going to do this, we’re very excited,” James said. “It could save lives.”
And also help the goal of police better using their limited workforce.
