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Mental health related calls to Stew Police According to the department’s 2021 report, they are increasing.
Since 2018, the Stow Police Department has seen a 35% increase in crisis intervention calls. In the year In 2021, officers recorded 242 calls involving a mental health crisis, a significant increase from 2020’s peak of 224, according to the report.
Stow Police Lt. Heather Prussia said she thinks an increase in calls doesn’t necessarily mean an increase in emergency situations.
“I think the increase in calls is because officers are getting used to going through the forms and actually tracking the statistics,” she said. “Secondly, I think people feel more comfortable using mental health services, or calling for help when people are having a mental health crisis.”
Prussia has worked for the Stow Police Department for 22 years. In 2017, she accepted Ohio Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Facilitator of the Year Award from the National Mental Health Collaborative. She graduated from Summit County CIT program in 2013 and is now the CIT coordinator and lead contact person for related issues.
In the year As of 2021, 54% of Stow police officers have CIT certification, Prussia said.
“It’s just a volunteer thing. But what’s unique about Summit County is you have to get on a waiting list,” she said. “The waiting list is not first-come, first-served. They pick the agencies that have the highest percentage of officers trained and prioritize those people. So Stow is over 50%, so we’re at the top. Bottom of the list in terms of getting a seat for the unit.”
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The Crisis Intervention Team at the Stow Police Department is a group of 19 sworn officers who have undergone 40 hours of specialized training to identify and effectively respond to someone experiencing a mental health crisis. Officers routinely use techniques they’ve learned to defuse crises by helping to guide people with mental illness to treatment.
Prussia is a staffing issue. Despite hiring 44 officers — the highest number of staff since 2017 — a CIT-certified officer is not always available to respond to crisis intervention calls. Of the 242 calls in 2021, a CIT-certified officer was present for 138.
“We don’t have the manpower to send someone for a week of training,” she said.
A recent analysis from Center for American Growth And the Law Enforcement Action Partnership examined 911 calls for service from eight cities and found that between 21% and 38% of calls were related to mental health, substance abuse, homelessness and other quality-of-life concerns.
In the year In 2021, Stow Police handled 21,191 total calls for service, a 9% increase from 2020 total calls. Self-initiated police calls, which do not include 911 calls, saw a 19% increase.
Of the 242 crisis intervention calls in Stow, 136 were made by men.
In Stow, it was the person experiencing a mental health crisis who often called for help. The afternoon shift answered the most calls with 103. The month of January recorded the highest number of calls for these types of calls.
Police Reform;A pilot program connects mental health professionals and officers with 911 calls.
Prusha said she believes more officers will be interested in CIT training in the future.
“When young officers come in, they’ve had many, many hours in an academy dedicated to crisis intervention training,” she said. “They have a concept of what is and what is not. There is a need for more skills to deal with mental health problems, because this is a common call. I mean, officers want to know how to know the tools. Respond and what to say.”
Prussia urged people not to hesitate to call the police, either 911 or the non-emergency line.
“We’re equipped to talk to people and get them the help they need,” says Prussia. “We know the resources in our community. And I think when these things come together, it helps the community to call us for help or not to doubt a loved one in times of need.”
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