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SUMMARY:Seminar: Policing the Crisis - How Virtual Co-responder Programs ar
 e Transforming Mental Health Response for Law Enforcement
DESCRIPTION:Across the country, law enforcement officers are increasingly e
 xpected to act not only as investigators and protectors, but also as media
 tors, social workers, and often, front-line mental health responders. Nati
 onal estimates indicate approximately 1 in 5 calls for service involve a m
 ental health or substance-related crisis, placing officers at the center o
 f situations that require as much clinical expertise as tactical training.
 \n\n\nThese calls carry real risk. Encounters involving individuals experi
 encing mental health crises are more unpredictable and can pose significan
 t danger not only to the person in crisis, but also to the responding offi
 cer. At the same time, communities increasingly expect law enforcement to 
 resolve these situations safely, compassionately, and without the criminal
  justice system’s involvement.\n\n\nIn Cook County, Illinois, mental
  health calls rapidly increased from 1,712 calls in 2018 to more than 3,00
 0 calls within a few years. In response to these challenges, in 2020, Cook
  County Sheriff Tom Dart launched the Co-Responder Virtual Assistance Prog
 ram (CVAP), an innovative model that equips officers in the field with sec
 ure tablets that can instantly connect a person in crisis with a licensed 
 mental-health clinician from our Treatment Response Team. Since its implem
 entation, these tablets have become more than a device and rather a bridge
 , giving officers more support and allowing licensed professionals to assi
 st in de-escalation, assessment, and connection to treatment resources.\n\
 n\nToday, on-scene clinical consultations have more than doubled, with mor
 e than 44 suburban police departments now joined as partners in the progra
 m. Unlike traditional co-responder programs that require clinicians to tra
 vel to the scene, the virtual model allows a small team of mental health p
 rofessionals to support officers across multiple departments simultaneousl
 y, expanding access while controlling costs. As a result, agencies are see
 ing fewer repeat crises, fewer hospitalizations, and fewer people cycling 
 endlessly through emergency rooms, jail cells, and courtrooms.\n\n\nThis k
 eynote will explore how technology-enabled co-responder models can help la
 w enforcement agencies meet the growing intersection of public safety and 
 behavioral health. For agencies facing the same rising demand, this model 
 offers a scalable blueprint for modern crisis response, one that supports 
 officers, protects the public, and recognizes that today’s policing 
 challenges often require both a badge and a clinician.\n\n\nhttps://nsacon
 f.org
LOCATION:206
URL;VALUE=URI:https://nsaconf.org/v2/page/AgendaItem/6137
DTSTART:20260608T131500Z
DTEND:20260608T141500Z
UID:2026-06-06-21-26-15-0@nsaconf.org
DTSTAMP:20260607T022615
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