CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Chicago’s police superintendent said Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s budget doubles the number of mental health professionals in the Department to help officers cope with the challenges of the job.
Supt. David Brown said since he took the reins at the police department, the city’s gone from just three clinical therapists for the entire force to 11. But he said that’s still not enough, and this budget includes money for 11 additional therapists for a total of 22. That would be one for each district.
“We must be proactive with providing our men and women in blue with support for the difficult, dangerous job of protecting the public in what is arguably the most difficult time to be the police in our country’s history,” Brown said.
Brown said he hopes officers will become familiar with the therapist on a day-to-day basis and will feel comfortable talking with them when they need to or should.
Another of Brown’s priorities is recruitment.
He said there are now a thousand vacancies, and the city needs more people to sign up to take the police exams.
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