Twelve regional officers received training earlier this month on how to recognize and de-escalate a situation when someone is experiencing a mental health crisis.
Three Rivers Crisis Intervention Team Council (C.I.T) held its third 40-hour, basic crisis intervention team training at the Black River Coliseum.
“We had several from the Poplar Bluff area, the Butler County area (and) Dunklin County area” in attendance, said Carter County Sheriff Rick Stephens. “It was a mixture between law enforcement, probation and parole and juvenile office” personnel.
The program, Stephens explained, is designed to equip officers with the “ability to recognize people that are going through a mental health crisis and equip them with the tools and resources necessary to de-escalate a situation without force.”
Stephens said the training included classroom/lecture-type instruction, as well as site visits to several local resources, including the hospital and behavioral health center.
“Then, also it consists of what they call a lived-experience panel, which consists of several members of the community that have dealt with drug addiction/mental illness, and they talk to the officers about their experiences,” Stephens said. “Then, of course, role plays and so forth to try to give them some actual hands-on experience.”
Of those in attendance, Stephens said, all, but one, were receiving the training for the first time.
Stephens believes the training is “of the utmost important due to the fact that training like this sets the foundation for officers to be able to effectively deal with our citizens that may be going through a mental health crisis, and it enhances their ability to provide resources to family members who seek to get their loved ones help.
“I think especially with our modern society and everything that is going on today, officers are being asked to perform more and more tasks.”
What better than for “us as a society” to “equip our frontline officers with the ability to deal more effectively with people,” said Stephens, who indicated its a “win-win situation” throughout “our communities.”
Many times, without having adequate training, “officers are left with nothing, but to use a higher level of force,” Stephens said. “With this type of training, it allows the officers to de-escalate a situation more efficiently and more in line with community standards, ultimately getting the people the help that they need.”