City of Durhan Co-response

Send a licensed clinician with a CIT (Crisis Intervention Team)-trained police officer to respond to highest risk calls involving mental and behavioral health needs. Goals: Send the right response to a wider range of crisis calls regardless of priority level. More safely explore some calls types to see if they might be appropriate for unarmed responses in the future.

Co-Response entails a joint response from Durham Police and Community Safety departments and serves 6 major functions: Dispatch: 9-1-1 dispatches a DPD CIT-trained officer and a licensed clinician from DCSD, where there is a higher risk of violence. DCSD is interested in eventually adding a peer support specialist to this model, which would add capacity to support our neighbors. Assess: CIT officers assess the scene for safety. De-escalate: The clinician supports the CIT officer in de-escalation. Deliver: The clinician delivers therapeutic de-escalation and trauma-informed responses to neighbors in crisis. Connect: The clinician works to assess needs and connect neighbors in crisis to community-based care where appropriate. Support: In a situation like an involuntary commitment, the clinician may also support family members present and continue to support the neighbor in crisis throughout the process.