St. Louis law enforcement taking a new approach to crisis intervention

St. Louis city and county police officers are now being trained on how to help someone experiencing a behavioral health crisis.

The region now has a dedicated task force assigned to take on these cases. And in March, the Florissant Police Department dedicated a full-time detective to the unit.

Typically, both a member of the unit and a trained behavioral health professional respond to calls of crisis.

Florissant Police Chief Timothy Fagan said another unique aspect of the partnership is that both professionals follow up with the person a few says after an incident in order to make sure they're receiving the support they need.

"People call us initially because they don't know what to do," Fagan said. "I think specifically, this position that officer Williams has is really about bridging between law enforcement and mental health professionals and offering the resources."

Detective John Williams is Florissant's assigned crisis intervention team member. Even with a 22 year background in law enforcement, Williams says he's never seen this many success stories.

"A lot of times people feel awkward asking for help," Williams said. "But when you come to them and say. 'do you need some help? Are you okay?' It makes it a lot easier for them."

Listen to the full conversation between Jade Aubrey, Chief Fagan, and Detective Williams at the podcast above.