Staff Report.Mental Health Response
PREPARED BY: Peter Decena
Chief of Police
Reviewed by: Town Manager, Assistant Town Manager, Town Attorney, and Finance Director
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 08/03/2021 ITEM NO: 16
DATE: July 23, 2021
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Direct the Further Implementation of Mental Health Response Options
Within the Police Department.
RECOMMENDATION:
Direct the further implementation of mental health response options within the Police
Department.
BACKGROUND:
The issue of Police response to mental health calls has been a topic of much discussion at a
national level. Almost all stakeholders agree that in most cases Police Officers are not the best
solution for dealing with a person in mental health crisis. Unfortunately, the general lack of
clinical resources has made law enforcement the only viable option to address situations when
the community calls to report a mental health concern.
For the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department between January and June 2021, Officers
responded to 51 calls for service that were specifically focused on mental health. During this
same time frame, Police Officers responded to a total of 8,066 calls for service.
In March 2021, LGMSPD began collecting data related to calls that were not primarily mental
health focused, but where mental health was an underlying or secondary issue. With this new
definition, the total number of mental health and mental health-related calls from March to
June 2021 was 67. During this same time frame, Police Officers responded to 3,715 calls for
service.
During the September 2020 community conversation, one of the Police Reform
recommendations was for the Town to hire its own social worker to respond to calls involving
PAGE 2 OF 5 SUBJECT: Mental Health Response Options DATE: August 3, 2021
BACKGROUND (continued):
mental health issues. Logistic and financial feasibility made this option difficult to implement as
discussed with the Town Council in March 2021 (Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services
estimates that the average annual salary and benefits for a Licensed Clinical Social Worker is
$182,000). While the Council opted not to pursue this specific recommendation, during the
May Budget hearing the Council approved the Mayor’s motion to challenge the Police
Department to seek out and present innovative options that might accomplish the same goal.
DISCUSSION:
Existing Programs
Since 2018, the Santa Clara County Police Chiefs Association has partnered with Santa Clara
County Behavioral Health Services (SCCBHS) in a working group to facilitate the development of
viable mental health response options that included all facets of the existing system, including
SCCBHS clinicians, law enforcement, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), and community-based
organizations. The resulting programs, including Mobile Crisis Response Teams (MCRT), Law
Enforcement Liaisons, Psychiatric Emergency Response Teams (PERT), and Mobile Response
and Stabilization Services (MRSS) were discussed at the March 16, 2021 Town Council meeting.
Although the programs are still a work in progress, and hampered in large part by the difficulty
in hiring clinicians with the skills and motivation to engage crisis work on a shift basis, it is staff’s
belief that this partnership has the best chance for success in the long term.
In addition to the programs provided by the County, LGMSPD has long maintained a
commitment to addressing mental health concerns with a high level of compassion and
innovation. Existing LGMSPD programs and trainings include:
Vulnerable Communities Response Coordinator: formalized collateral duty assignment
for a Sergeant to consolidate and coordinate efforts and resources for those with
mental health issues and the homeless population in Town.
- A key element in this effort is the longstanding collaboration with community-
based organizations and faith-based organizations that are providing assistance
to the homeless and mentally ill (e.g., St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Los Gatos
United Methodist Church and West Valley Community Services)
Crisis Intervention Training (CIT): over 90% of the sworn and Dispatch personnel have
completed the 40-hour CIT course (16 hours for Dispatchers). The goal of the training is
to give staff the tools, techniques, and resources to interact with persons in mental
health crisis, minimizing the use of force, and providing the highest degree of safety for
the individual and the responding Officer.
Special Needs Awareness Program (SNAP): a voluntary and confidential program that
allows families to register their loved ones with special needs in a database housed in
the Police Department’s Dispatch Center. If the Police are responding to a SNAP address
or encounter a SNAP participant in the field (identified with a distinctive wristband),
PAGE 3 OF 5 SUBJECT: Mental Health Response Options DATE: August 3, 2021
DISCUSSION (continued):
Officers will be provided with information that will help them adapt their interaction to
the SNAP participant’s special needs.
Crisis Text Line: provides free 24/7 confidential crisis intervention via SMS messaging.
Proposed Mental Health Response Options
In response to the Council’s challenge, staff is proposing the following recommendations and
seeks Council direction for the implementation of these options. As noted below, some of
these ideas can be implemented within the Department’s current budget. Other ideas would
need to be analyzed further for cost implications should the Council wish to pursue them.
Vulnerable Communities Response Team
- Expansion of the VCRC concept to include a collateral duty team of four to six
Officers who would undergo enhanced mental health response training. VCRT
members could be utilized in a part-time PERT program, partnered with a
SCCBHS clinician to respond to mental health calls and follow up with subjects
who have previously been contacted or detained for mental health concerns.
This option can be absorbed within the existing Police Department budget.
Enhanced CIT training for Patrol Officers
- CIT is currently a 40-hour California Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards
and Training (POST) certified class that provides basic skills and techniques to
deal with persons in mental health crisis. The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office
has developed an enhanced CIT course that provides a higher level of training for
mental health response. Members of the SCCBHS Law Enforcement Liaison are
participating in the curriculum development and POST certification process with
the intent of providing a similar enhanced CIT course to Santa Clara County law
enforcement agencies. LGMSPD will be focused on ensuring that as many of its
sworn staff as possible will participate in the class when it is available. This
option can be absorbed into to the Department’s training budget.
Mental health response training for the Victim Services Unit (VSU)
- There are currently four community volunteers who have undergone the training
curriculum to assist Patrol Officers as victim advocates. VSU has already been
called to assist a family with a particularly difficult situation involving a family
member with mental health issues. The VSU mental health response training
would be similar to CIT for Officers and Dispatchers, but with a greater focus on
resources available to assist the family with aftercare and long-term solutions.
This option can be absorbed into to the Department’s training budget.
Virtual Reality training system
- The Department has used its POST Innovations Grant funds to purchase a virtual
reality (VR) training system. The VR system will be primarily used to train
PAGE 4 OF 5 SUBJECT: Mental Health Response Options DATE: August 3, 2021
DISCUSSION (continued):
Officers in de-escalation of force techniques; however, it has the capability to
modify the mental status of the VR characters to simulate a mental health crisis.
In addition, the SCCBHS Law Enforcement Liaison currently oversees mental
health Interactive Video Simulation Training for law enforcement agencies. It is
anticipated that with the widespread implementation of POST-funded VR
training systems throughout the region, they will be developing VR training
modules specifically designed for mental health response. This has already been
purchased and has no further budgetary implication.
Incorporate Integrating Communications, Assessment, and Tactics (ICAT) into the
defensive tactics training curriculum
- ICAT is training program developed by the Police Executive Research Forum to
provide Police Officers with the tools, skills, and options to successfully defuse a
range of critical incidents, but particularly applicable to scenarios involving
individuals in mental health crisis. Two members of the LGMSPD defensive
tactics training cadre have already attended ICAT training. All members of the
cadre will attend ICAT instructor certification preparatory to introducing ICAT
into the Perishable Skills curriculum. This option can be absorbed into to the
Department’s training budget.
Contract ambulance program to transport individuals detained under Welfare and
Institutions Code 5150 (to Emergency Psychiatric Services
- Current practice for Police Officers to transport an individual detained for 5150 is
to handcuff and seat them in the rear prisoner transport area of a police vehicle.
This is done for safety reasons but can have the effect of further traumatizing an
individual already in crisis. In cases where the detained individual has not
exhibited violent or aggressive tendencies, the use of an ambulance to transport
would be a compassionate option. County EMS will only transport subjects
detained for 5150 if there is a coinciding medical or intoxication issue. The
challenge is to identify a vendor that can guarantee a reasonable estimated time
of arrival. SCCBHS is utilizing a private ambulance company for MCRT, however,
wait times can be up to several hours. This is not a workable time frame for
Patrol Officers, so additional research will need to be conducted to identify a
vendor that can provide a timely response. This option has cost implications that
would need to be explored with partner agencies.
Therapy canine program
- A number of jurisdictions, most notably Campbell Police Department, have
implemented a therapy canine program. Therapy dogs have been shown to
provide relief and comfort to individuals or situations that are anxiety-inducing.
The training and certification of a therapy dog does not rise to the level of a
police canine or even a service dog, and it would not require a specially outfitted
vehicle or secure accommodations at the handler’s home.
PAGE 5 OF 5 SUBJECT: Mental Health Response Options DATE: August 3, 2021
DISCUSSION (continued):
The LGMSPD model would be a collateral duty assignment for a Police Officer
who would bring the therapy canine to pre-planned events or be on call for
situations where a therapy canine is requested by Patrol Officers or VSU
volunteers. The therapy canine would also be an integral component of the
Department’s Peer Support program to provide comfort to working members of
the Department. Staff believe that the Police Foundation would support this
investment if the Council wished to pursue it.
CONCLUSION:
Staff looks forward to Council direction on appropriate next steps. Depending on the direction
provided, staff anticipates being able to return to Council within a reasonable time frame to
provide updates or additional requested information.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Fiscal impact is contingent on direction from the Town Council. Most of the recommendations
have been or can be absorbed within the Police Department budget. A couple of the other
options will need to be researched to determine actual costs implications as noted above.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT:
This is not a project defined under CEQA, and no further action is required.