Chicago To Begin Dispatching Mental Health Clinicians, Not Cops, To Some 911 Calls in Chicago

In one pilot program starting this fall, a paramedic will be dispatched with a mental health clinician for “behavioral health calls.” In another, a paramedic will work with a “recovery specialist” on calls involving substance abuse.

Mental health clinicians will be on hand at the 911 center to monitor situations, but questions remain how well these new responders will be able to de-escalate violence that can erupt during such calls.

These “alternative response” programs, aka “defund the police,” are largely generated by the spate of police killings of unarmed black men.  But even if this horrific wave of police violence weren’t a deeply ingrained part of American society, the idea would still be a strong one.

The theory is that responses to 911 calls that concern unarmed people doing things that require intervention, or school children acting out, are best handed by unarmed experts, highly trained in de-escalating situations like these and bringing order without the use of deadly weapons.  One good thing: no one gets killed, and cops aren’t sent away with second-degree murder convictions.

At the very worst, the police are brought in when necessary.  Other cities in which this concept has been implemented report that this number is less than 5%.

Great to see progress being made here.