This 2018 file photo shows a man speaking with an Orange County Sheriff’s deputy at a homeless camp along the Santa Ana River in Anaheim. Starting this month, new screening procedures were implemented to direct non-criminal calls related to mental illness and homelessness from the Sheriff’s Department to trained professionals within the Orange County Health Department. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen of Orange County Register/SCNG)
As of this month, if you call 911 for help from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, you may be asked to complete a short quiz.
“Is the person you’re calling in immediate danger or posing a safety risk?”
“Are they committing a crime?”
“Is there a weapon involved?”
Answering yes or no to these and several other questions will determine whether your representative or mental health professional will respond to your call. The new vetting process is part of a broader, coordinated effort by the Sheriff’s Department and Orange County Health Department to shift police focus away from traditional crime and toward social services that help people in crisis.
In a way, this dual-track response system is the latest step in a long-standing effort by the county’s largest police agency and county health department to separate criminal and social problems in a way that benefits all members of the community. It’s nothing more than that. . Several years ago, the Sheriff’s Department created the Behavioral Health Bureau, which includes three sergeants, more than 10 lieutenants, and up to 40 civilian mental health workers to coordinate calls related to mental illness. We are responding accordingly. It is unclear whether the department will expand or respond to more calls, but it is not expected that calls will decrease as a result of the new 911-based review process.
“I think this may seem like a big change to the general public, but we have always worked closely with the Sheriff’s Office,” said Veronica, who heads the OC Healthcare Agency’s behavioral health division. Mr. Kelly said. The department now includes the newly created OC Links, a division that connects people in crisis with counselors and other service providers.
Kelley noted that people in her agency worked with sheriff’s deputies to create a 911 “decision tree” screening question, and county mental health officials said they are aware of violence by or against law enforcement. He said that he has been working at a police agency for several years to reduce the number of cases.
“When something happens, everyone’s instinct is to call 911 and have the police come first. But they’re not (mental health) clinicians,” Kelly said.
“They receive training and learn how to de-escalate. But as we’ve seen across the country, interactions involving police with people in mental health crisis can sometimes lead to violence.” she added.
“It affects both individuals.”
crazy quilt reaction
But while the new testing program impacts people in crisis, or agents of safety, it will increasingly change the way communities and law enforcement agencies across California deal with unhoused mentally ill people. It also reflects diversification.
Since 2021, several of Orange County’s largest cities, including Irvine, Anaheim, and Huntington Beach, are using an independent nonprofit organization to provide mental health professionals to assist police officers in responding to homeless and mentally ill individuals. Signed a contract with Be Well. And nationally, many of the nation’s largest police departments, especially in New York, Philadelphia, and Dallas, are hiring officers to reduce violence involving the mentally ill without necessarily arresting and incarcerating more people. We are reinforcing and training.
However, in such a situation, the opposite trend is emerging. Over the past 18 months, several cities with reputations for little or no police response to social crime have changed their tune.
In San Francisco, widely known as the most liberal city in America, the police department late last year began enforcing a law banning camping and sleeping in public places, at least if the person involved has access to a shelter bed. instructed the police officer.
Since late 2021, police in some areas of Los Angeles have increased enforcement of 41.18. Under the ordinance, anyone found sitting, lying, sleeping or placing personal property on city-owned sidewalks would be subject to fines and even jail time.
And in Santa Ana last year, the City Council directed police to crack down on crimes many consider to be synonymous with homelessness and mental illness, such as public drunkenness, exposure and disturbing the peace.
“It wasn’t a new policy per se. It was just a directive to stop allowing certain types of criminal activity to continue,” said the Santa Ana City Council member who called for a tougher stance on the city’s response to homelessness. said Phil Basella, an urban planner who was elected in 2019, speaking to voters.
“Homelessness is not a crime. We are not medieval England,” Basella said. “But a crime is a crime. And in Santa Ana all crimes are subject to law enforcement.”
Basella said the city’s approach includes both sticks and carrots. For example, while police are encouraged to crack down on public drunkenness, they are also required to provide people with ways to sober up and find shelter.
“This community is caring. We have more shelter beds and services than anywhere else in the county. But many people are also frustrated.”
Still, it’s unclear how or if the city’s tough stance has affected homelessness. Basella said the most recent homeless census, a biennial point-in-time count, will tell whether Santa Ana’s homeless population is increasing or decreasing.
“Nobody thinks they can get arrested for having a problem,” Basella said. “But there are nuances to this. And ultimately public safety is most important.”
Less contact means less conflict
That new 911 quiz can impact many lives.
The Sheriff’s Department provides police services to 13 cities and unincorporated Orange County, covering about a quarter of the county’s 3.1 million residents. Dispatchers receive approximately 10,000 calls each year regarding mental health issues and unhoused people.
It’s too early to know how many of those calls will be routed to county health care workers, but experts from all political walks of life believe police will not be able to handle traditional crime or mental health services related to social ills. They argue that keeping the focus on homes is more effective for residents and less costly for taxpayers.
“I think this could potentially save lives and save the county money,” said Eve Garrow, senior policy analyst with the ACLU of Southern California, which focuses on homelessness.
“If we don’t need law enforcement, we shouldn’t have law enforcement.”
However, the review is not expected to immediately reduce the number of MPs sent to assist those seeking review.
If you answer yes to any of the dispatcher’s six questions, a deputy will be dispatched to the scene. Similarly, calls submitted to OC Link begin the process of thinking about how private mental health workers might respond and help the caller, but county health workers may If it is determined that it is, it can be sent back to the Security Bureau. Even the tone of a caller’s voice can be cited by a dispatcher as a reason to request a law enforcement response.
“Deputies will continue to be involved at the same level,” said Sergeant Martin, a Department of Sheriff’s Office spokesperson. Frank Gonzalez.
“Our agents are trained to respond and welcome all types of calls and situations.”
But Gonzalez suggested the goal could be achieved if the new review could move lawmakers away from non-crime issues and focus on other issues related to safety.
“Our fundamental mission is to protect our community,” he said. “To achieve this, we will choose the appropriate path and direction.”
