Baltimore City is seeking public input on a plan to reduce the number of interactions between police and individuals experiencing a mental health crisis at an online forum tonight.
The draft plan, released last month, outlines a multi-year approach to reducing unnecessary police encounters and increasing emergency counseling resources.
The plan addresses recommendations provided in a December 2019 city analysis that examined problems in the Baltimore City Police Department’s response to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis.
The 2019 analysis was conducted as part of a consent decree that the City entered into with the U.S. Department of Justice in April 2017, following the DOJ’s findings that the police department participated in unconstitutional behavior.
The analysis found that “neighborhoods need 24/7 access to community-based behavioral health services” and community-based mobile crisis response teams should be “greatly expanded.”
Enhancing mobile crisis response teams will also relieve the pressures on law enforcement and other first responders, the report stated.
The draft plan addresses the recommendations in four sections, calling for actions such as an expansion of the 911 Diversion Pilot.
The pilot program, which connects 911 calls that do not require a police response to appropriate behavioral health resources, was announced in May and implemented in June of this year.
Those who wish to provide feedback on the draft plan can either attend the City’s forum at 5:30 p.m. tonight or submit comments online until Oct. 30.
Registration for the forum can be found here, and online feedback can be submitted here.
