Four police departments in Washington County team up for mental health response
TIGARD, Ore. — Police departments in Washington County hope to expand a unique response program for people with mental health issues, pairing a certified clinician with a police officer for certain 911 calls.
The responder program makes these encounters safer and connects people with the resources they need more quickly.
It quite possibly could also be a model for other agencies nationwide.
The Mental Health Response Team started with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office 11 years ago, pairing a deputy with a licensed clinician for some 911 calls.
Last September, the program expanded in the form of the South Cities Mental Health Response Team. It includes an officer from Tigard, Tualatin, Sherwood, and King City; the team covers those four cities for 40 hours each week.
Clinician Crystal Fisher pairs up with an officer from Tualatin, Tigard, Sherwood, and King City on a rotating two-week schedule. The team responds to calls in all four cities. Fisher and the officers said responding together gives them time to form a plan on how to respond to calls.
“It brings such a great tool to a problem. If someone's in need of immediate mental health issue assistance, things like that, then having a master's level clinician is just so beneficial,” Tigard Officer Sam Northcote said.
In Tigard alone, the agency said it handled an average of 320 calls per month between January and November 2021 that involved a behavioral health incident. That accounted for about 20% of their calls. That need is what prompted the expansion of the Washington County team.
Officers and the clinician on the team said it gives each of them more tools than if they responded alone.
“We can get there quickly, because they have the ability to get there fast if it's an emergency,” Fisher said. “They kind of make sure everything is safe, whereas I have the skills to do a mental health assessment and figure out what is needed in the moment.”
Fisher is employed with LifeWorks NW and contracted through Washington County. She said the responder program gives the people they serve immediate access to the help they need, and it’s safer for everyone involved.
“We can do follow-up with clients. We can get them connected to ongoing mental health. We can get them connected to health insurance. There's so much more that we can do that I don't know the officers just have access to right away,” Fisher said.
Right now, the new unit is funded through the summer with a US Department of Justice grant that the city of Tualatin received; the immediate goal is to fund the team permanently and add teams after that. When the South Cities team is not working, a team with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office covers the whole county.
Often, officers said Fisher’s presence de-escalates situations involving police.
“Law enforcement, in general, goes on so many mental health calls, and we can only have so many resources,” Tualatin Officer Shawn Fischer said. “We can give them brochures or make phone calls for them, but we can't do the follow-up and all that stuff, so having a clinician on board, we can not only get them the help in the future moving forward, but we can get immediate help.”
At a time when police are under the microscope – officers said this is a creative way to better serve the public.
“I personally see moving forward that there should probably be a clinician at every police department in the years to come,” Officer Fischer said.
Correction: The original version of this story stated that 65% of calls were for a behavioral health incident. The percentage is actually around 20%. Tigard police initially misinterpreted data and later sent KATU the correct number.