Mental Health Team Handling 911 Calls In Denver Wraps Up Six Months With Dozens Of People Helped, Zero People Arrested
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20210208/10214946206/mental-health-team-handling-911-calls-denver-wraps-up-six-months-with-dozens-people-helped-zero-people-arrested.shtml
In June of last year -- as protests over police brutality occurred all over the nation -- Denver, Colorado rolled out a program that combined common sense with a slight "defunding" of its police department. It decided calls that might be better handled by social workers and mental health professionals should be handled by… social workers and mental health professionals.
The city's STAR (Support Team Assistance Response) team was given the power to handle 911 calls that didn't appear to deal with criminal issues. Calls related to mental health or social issues were routed to STAR, allowing cops to handle actual crime and allowing people in crisis to avoid having to deal with people who tend to treat every problem like a crime problem.