NAMI Offers Crisis Intervention and Law Enforcement Training

There are at least 450 law enforcement jurisdictions serving our state. 446 of these departments use the Kentucky Criminal Justice Institute located at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond for their basic and in-service training needs.

However, the law enforcement training needs of four jurisdictions are met by their own departments. They are:

• Kentucky State Police
• Louisville Police Department
  
• Lexington Police Department
  
• Jefferson County Police Department

NAMI Louisville was instrumental in establishing a 4-hour in-service training session for all Louisville Police officers. This training on mental health issues and de-escalation techniques is being provided by Seven Counties Services. Seven Counties Services also provides both basic and in-service training on these issues to the Jefferson County Police Department.

NAMI Kentucky is beginning to provide similar in-service training to the sheriffs and police departments served by the Kentucky Criminal Justice Institute. This will come about via a 4-hour curriculum on mental health and de-escalation techniques for law enforcement that is being developed now. This program will be made available to Kentucky's 8,000+ law enforcement officers served by the Institute during calendar year 2002. Initially, the program will be elective on the part of each department, but hopefully will become a requirement during 2003 or shortly thereafter.

NAMI was instrumental in helping the Louisville Division of Police locate and implement the Crisis Intervention Team Program (CIT) that is now underway. This program involves a 40-hour intensive crisis intervention training course known as the "Memphis model." It is being taught by volunteers from the University of Louisville Hospital staff, Emergency Psychiatric Services, Seven Counties Services, a judge from the Jefferson District Court and private psychiatrists that are donating their time to do so. In addition, a local psychiatric hospital is donating the lunches for the officers each day.

The CIT training program is an excellent example of collaboration among local law enforcement, local mental health professionals, our judiciary and our medical services community. Additionally, consumers and family members of consumers provide roll playing exercises to ensure CIT training is clear, effective and well understood. NAMI is staying involved after-the- fact and will provide CIT officers meritorious awards on an annual basis in the future.

On October 26th, Louisville graduated its second class of officers from the Crisis Intervention Team training program. It goes without saying that NAMI is very proud of this program and its approximately 60 graduates.

This program has already made a positive difference in the way mentally ill people in Louisville are treated by the police department. There has been a change in their mindset to recognize "mental illnesses are brain disorders!" This program offers communities all across Kentucky the opportunity to provide law enforcement officers, jailers, judiciary, prosecutors and defense attorneys with new insight into how to more effectively understand the mentally ill and how to better interact with them in a crisis situation. This program is making a difference and we hope to replicate it across Kentucky. For more information about this or any NAMI program, contact me at NAMI Kentucky 502-245-5287.

- Jim Dailey
NAMI Kentucky, Advocacy Director

Back to Newsletter