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Miami Beach committee weighs co-responder crisis model; police cite 24250K pilot cost and ask for more data
Summary
Police and mental-health partners described a co-responder pilot (clinician + peer specialist + officers) shown elsewhere to reduce calls; staff cited a 24250,000 one-year operating cost and asked to return in July with comparative data and options to reassign an officer for a pilot to avoid immediate new operating costs.
Miami Beach police officials and regional mental-health partners briefed the committee June 10 on a proposed co-responder crisis-intervention pilot that would pair officers with licensed clinicians and peer specialists to respond to behavioral-health crises.
Assistant Chief Daniel Morguello said the department supports piloting a co-responder model but noted fiscal constraints. "If we do engage in this co-responder model, there is a cost associated ... to the tune of $250,000 for the one-year pilot," Morguello said, explaining that the funding would support a clinician and support staff to accompany officers.
Lieutenant George Limes, who leads local CIT efforts, described outcomes from nearby programs and operational pressure from Baker Act incidents. "When the City of Miami adopted this program ... calls for service were reduced by 36%," Limes said, and he reviewed department statistics: roughly 907 Baker Act incidents in 2024 and about 366 so far this year. Limes and presenters argued a co-responder team can reduce repeat transports, emergency-room burden and repeated police responses to high-utilizer individuals.
Mental-health partners and local criminal-justice experts emphasized that officers receive Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training but that an on-scene clinician can change the options available at the moment of contact, potentially diverting people from repeated involuntary examinations or repeated emergency-room transports.
Commissioners asked for comparative data from the City of Miami program and more detail about call types and operational impacts. The committee asked staff to return to the July meeting with additional data and to explore a pilot that reassigns an officer from within existing staffing (to avoid adding a sworn position) while funding the clinical partner for a year if needed.
No pilot was authorized at the committee meeting; the committee asked for a follow-up briefing and additional outcome data from neighboring jurisdictions before any pilot or budget request is brought forward.
