MONTAGUE — With its entire force now fully trained in crisis intervention, the Montague Police Department was honored this month with Behavioral Health Network’s Western Massachusetts Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Recognition Award.
The department was one of few recognized during a ceremony at Holyoke’s Summit View banquet hall on Dec. 9. According to Police Chief Christopher Williams, to deserve this, each officer recently completed a “40-hour training course that deals with all types of issues that people deal with daily.” Curriculum was part of the Crisis Intervention Team program provided by BHN, a regional provider of behavioral health services that also administered the award.
“Not only can CIT programs bring community leaders together, they can also help keep people with mental illness out of jail and in treatment, on the road to recovery,” the BHN website explains. “That’s because diversion programs like CIT reduce arrests of people with mental illness while simultaneously increasing the likelihood that individuals will receive mental health services.”
The Montague Police Department began sending officers to train shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic brought efforts to a halt, Williams recalled. Returning to training was a process made tedious by staffing issues the time commitment would cause, he explained. The program’s schedule consists of a five-day period where the enrolled officer trains for eight hours daily.
“It’s harder to get people to train because you have to fill the shifts,” Williams said. Counting Williams, the department has 14 full-time officers.
Training days consist of both informational sessions and simulative exercises intended “to put (an officer’s) feet in (a mental health crisis-affected individual’s) shoes,” Williams explained. One such exercise entailed an officer completing a task that was “almost like finding words in a crossword puzzle” while listening to an mp3 player streaming audio of voices. This was intended to simulate the experience of someone with mental health issues hearing voices in their head.
“I think a lot of chiefs are buying into this program and the training,” Williams said, noting that Holyoke and Longmeadow were among the other departments recognized by BHN. “It’s just a new way of dealing with people and getting them proper help.”
Williams said his department is dedicated to “evolving” with how they approach mental health crises. This, he said, involves officers being properly equipped to handle crisis situations while also knowing their role. Ideally, police response should be employed while a co-response mental health clinician is unavailable, Williams said.
“Now with the Clinical & Support Options response program up and running … it’s huge,” Williams said, “and training like this gives us the tools to deal with these types of situations until CSO can respond.”
The co-response team, which spans Franklin and Hampshire counties, is made up of clinicians who accompany police officers on calls involving mental health crises or emotional distress. Franklin County’s first co-response clinician, Kaitlin Richotte, was brought aboard in the spring of 2021 to serve Greenfield, Deerfield and Montague. CSO awarded the team with its Exemplary Team Award on Dec. 2, celebrating its effectiveness in diverting those in crisis from arrest or hospitalization.
Williams said he hopes the recent focus on mental health crisis preparedness can show that his department is dedicated toward betterment as the world learns more about mental health.
“I think it just proves we’re open to moving forward,” he said, “and getting the training necessary for helping people in our community.”
Reach Julian Mendoza at 413-930-4231 or jmendoza@recorder.com.