>>This program teaches Salina law enforcement how to interact during a mental health crisis

As part of a broader nationwide effort to improve policing methods, Salina-area law enforcement will undergo a program that helps equip officers to handle calls involving mental health disorders and illnesses.

There are a variety of reasons why law enforcement might interact with someone experiencing a mental health crisis, but being prepared for those situations is part of the job many don’t initially anticipate. As mental health issues continue to be on the rise, localities like Salina are working in partnership with mental health experts to change how these interactions play out.

Ericka Lysell, a mental health liaison at Salina Public Schools and longtime mental health social worker, said partnerships between law enforcement and mental health professionals is paving the way for better outcomes.

“People don’t go into law enforcement and say ‘I want to work in mental health,’” Lysell said. “But now you have to have a foundation or some knowledge for first-response jobs.”

More service calls in Salina now involve mental health issues

Lysell worked with officer Chris Venables at the Salina Police Department to plan a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training this month. From Aug. 14-18, law enforcement officers from Salina Police, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, Community Corrections workers, dispatchers and others will join forces for a 40-hour curriculum centered around interactions with people experiencing mental health issues.

With approximately one-third of service calls in Salina now involving a mental health component, Venables said the training is essential for officers to do their jobs well.

“Officers learn to better help or assist people in mental health crisis and get a better understanding of mental health disabilities,” Venables said. “A lot of things have to do with mental health now and sometimes substance abuse and mental health hand-in-hand.”

CIT training is a nationwide program that got its start in 1988. In the 35 years since its inception, it has grown to create a curriculum with key focus points of de-escalation, base knowledge of disorders and connecting individuals with resources.

Lysell said the training covers different diagnoses like mood disorders and psychotic disorders, as well as homelessness, veterans and other populations that are at-risk.

Program known nationwide for de-escalation practices

As part of the CIT training, role players act out scenarios from a script playing an individual with varying levels of mental health disorders and illnesses. Officers will interact with them and get feedback from mental health workers.

There are classroom-like settings as well, where officers will learn about different disorders and illnesses and the signs they might be dealing with an individual experiencing them.

“It’s about working as a team between the clinician and law enforcement to get the right things to say, know how to act, things to look for so we can help them through that crisis and get them the help that they need,” Venables said.

Venables and Lysell serve on the state Crisis Intervention Team Council, helping other localities get in on the training it provides. A while back, Venables attended a larger-scale CIT training in Salt Lake City to get a hand on what all goes into these programs.

CIT has been in Salina since at least 2016 but took a break during the pandemic. This year’s training is the first one in Salina since 2019. In coming years Salina Police hopes to expand its reach by inviting law enforcement from surrounding areas in central Kansa to take part.

Venables said he is grateful for partnerships like these and the ability to get help from experts when extreme or unordinary circumstances arise.

“It’s really nice to have officers trained in (crisis intervention) because mental health is an issue that’s not going away,” Lysell said.

To ‘serve and protect’ looks different today

Most people understand the law enforcement side of policing, Venables said, but not everyone grasps the community caretaking aspect of their jobs, like helping someone whose car broke down on the side of the road.

“We get all sorts of calls to do things that people wouldn’t really believe we get calls for,” Venables said. “We’ve got calls about someone being locked out of their house, and while that’s not really our deal, we help connect them with a locksmith.”

Venables said he remembers the days before CIT training was widely available. Back then, officers had a completely different approach to mental health calls.

“Police and law enforcement were dealing with people having these mental health issues and… officers didn’t really understand, and maybe they knew they had a mental health issue, but police didn’t really know what to do other than, ‘well if they’re breaking the law, then we’ll take them to jail,” Venables said.

Now, a shift in the culture through education and training of law enforcement officers has provided them with the ability to handle more mental health situations. The focus, Lysell said, is de-escalation and connecting people with resources.

But that, too, has its challenges.

“It’s not illegal for people to have mental health problems, and the community doesn’t always understand that,” Venables said.

“You’ll get a call from someone saying: ‘He’s out talking to himself on Santa Fe (Avenue). You need to get him somewhere,’” Lysell said. “But you can’t force someone to get help. They have the freedom to make those choices themselves if they are not a danger to themselves or others.”

If someone is a danger to themselves or others, the law allows officers to take more immediate action. This often leads to officers taking people to a hospital for a mental health evaluation or getting a medical screening.

But after CIT training, officers are better equipped in those situations, too, Venables said.

“It’s really to get a better grasp on what people need in the community,” he said.

Kendrick Calfee has been a reporter with the Salina Journal since 2022, primarily covering government and education. You can reach him at kcalfee@gannett.com or on Twitter (now known as “X”) @calfee_kc.

This article originally appeared on Salina Journal: Salina training equips officers for mental health crisis situations