A local law enforcement program that trains officers to deal with the mentally ill soon can hire a director after approval Wednesday from the Hamilton County Commission.
Despite a unanimous vote to approve the new leadership position for the Crisis Intervention Team, commissioners Jim Coppinger and Fred Skillern were a bit hesitant.
For the next three years, the position will be paid for with a $250,000 federal grant that the sheriff’s department already has received. But assuming the program continues to be successful, the department will approach the commission again after four years to request the $59,000 position continue to be funded.
“It has the potential to increase the budget four years from now,” Mr. Coppinger said.
G.A. Bennett, director of support services for the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, said he is quite certain he’ll be asking for more money in four years. But the money will be well worth it, he said, because the Crisis Intervention Team will be more than cost effective.
“The benefit of this program more properly administered by a director will save this county money in the long run,” Mr. Bennett said.
He said he did not have a timeline for when a director might be chosen.
Money-saving goals of the program include diverting the mentally ill away from prison and preventing injuries to police officers, Mr. Bennett said. Participants learn about the mentally ill, what typically agitates them, and how to de-escalate a potentially dangerous or illegal situation, he said.
“At minimum, 15 percent of a jail population is mentally ill; they’ve been an increasing issue for law enforcement,” Mr. Bennett said. “Many of them on the street have not been treated (and) do not have proper medication. Tasers often have to be used. Bystanders sometimes are injured.”
Officers from the sheriff’s office or Chattanooga police departments can attend the intensive week-long training for the Crisis Intervention Team, Mr. Bennett said.
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