NAMI-KC--CIT information(Crisis InterventionTraining)

Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) is 40 hours of specialized training for uniformed patrol Law Enforcement Officers in how to respond to calls concerning persons with mental illness in crisis.

THE NEED FOR CIT...

The well-intentioned closing of mental institutions of the 1960's, with the promise that the funding for community treatment would follow never materialized. Consequently, Law Enforcement is now required to be the first-on-the-scene "care-giver" for persons with mental illness in crisis.
HOW CIT OPERATES...

The key to a truly successful program is that in addition to their regular service calls CIT trains officers to respond to all calls relating to persons with mental illness. This makes CIT cost effective within the overall context of police services. Since Law Enforcement is often the first response to come in contact with crisis events, it is important to have someone who can calm and contain the situation rather than exacerbate it. While this may temporarily take a unit from its usual patrol area that short-term loss pales in comparison to the time spent when a situation is poorly handled or escalates.

THE CIT COURSE:

The course is presented over 5-days in four phases of approximately 24 components totaling 40 hours.

Phase one provides in-depth coverage of the types, severity signs and symptoms of chronic mental illnesses, and the medications used to control the illness with their sometimes devastating side-effects.
Second, the officers spend a full-day visiting various local mental health facilities so that the officers and consumers (persons with mental illness) can interact one-on-one or in-group discussion when neither is in a crisis situation.
Next, the acting out of real-life situations either by role playing, videos or personal testimonials from experienced officers family members, and most importantly, persons with mental illness permits the critiquing and sharing of techniques to learn the most effective ones. Before the formal CIT course is completed, mental health professionals will participate in "ride-longs" with experienced officers. This not only breaks down the barriers of misunderstanding between the two systems that may exist, but also demonstrates the theme that: CIT IS MORE THAN JUST TRAINING!

CIT IS FOR VOLUNTEERS...

Family members who care for a loved-one with a mental illness know it is an emotionally, physically and financially draining experience, Not everyone is up-to-the-task, and this is also true for CIT.

Volunteers from the mental health community donate their time and talent to develop and present CIT. Officers involved in CIT should be volunteers too.

It is just not for every officer! In some departments psychological testing is used to screen candidates. Others rely on interviews and a thorough review of the candidates' performance and disciplinary records. Indications are that experienced senior officers who volunteer and are interested in CIT perform best.

HOW LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONDS TO BEHAVIOR INFLUENCES
HOW SOCIETY VIEWS THAT BEHAVIOR

TO GET CIT...

In Lee's Summit, MO, Memphis, TN, Albuquerque, NM, Pinellas County, Largo and St Petersburg, FL, CIT became a reality, although in its infancy, through the efforts of a local coalition consisting of a partnership of advocates, consumers, mental health providers practitioners, politicians, and law enforcement representatives who donated their time and talent (NO PUBLIC FUNDS WERE UTILIZED), it was a true community effort! No one person made it happen, it took a determined approach spanning months to fruition. An unstated, but critical aspect of the entire endeavor was, NO ONE TRIED TO STOP US!

FUTURE OF CIT...

A CIT course will be offered in Lee's Summit, MO in the near future.
Click here for an article on the most recent training course
The local coalition will be soliciting support from other law enforcement departments in order to promote CIT across the country.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

•The Memphis Police Department's Crisis Intervention Team full-time coordinator is Lt. Sam Cochran. He is a wealth of knowledge on this subject and can be reached at:

•NAMI-KC (National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Greater Kansas City) is a grassroots, family and consumer self-help support and advocacy organization dedicated to improving the lives of people with severe mental illnesses. Untreated, these biologically based brain disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, panic disorder, etc. can profoundly disrupt a person's ability to think, feel, and relate to others and their environments.

NAMI-KC is a leading force in CIT in the Northwest Region of Missouri. We want to see CIT in every department in Missouri.

•Lee's Summit Police Department is dedicated to improving services to persons with mental illness through the use of Crisis Intervention Teams.

•The Missouri Department of Mental Health Northwest Region strongly supports the partnership of law enforcement, families, consumers and the mental health community.

If you have any questions about NAMI-KC please contact us at #816.931.0030 or KCAMI@AOL.com

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