CHICAGO — As of this week, all 911 call-takers and dispatchers in Chicago have completed mental heath awareness and de-escalation training, Mayor Emanuel’s office announced Sunday.
The 8-hour training course helps call takers and dispatchers identify 911 calls that warrant a crisis-intervention trained, or CIT, officer, according to the statement from mayoral spokeswoman Lauren Huffman.
“This milestone is an important step forward in improving the City’s overall mental health response system,” according to the statement.
In 2016, there were nearly five times as many CIT-identified events as in 2015 as a result of the new training and enhancements to the computer aided dispatch system, which allows the appropriate resources to be dispatched to mental-health related incidents, according to the statement.
The training was developed by the city’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications in collaboration with the Chicago Police Department and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Chicago.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2017. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
from CBS Chicago http://ift.tt/2mjTQOM
No comments:
Post a Comment