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Belton police outline mental‑health co‑responder work, challenges reaching unhoused residents
Summary
Police Chief Scott Lyons described the department’s use of a mental‑health co‑responder, common living patterns of unhoused residents, barriers to sustained engagement and local gaps in transitional housing and treatment capacity.
Chief Scott Lyons told the Belton City Council the police department routinely encounters people experiencing homelessness during calls for service tied to victimization, suspected crimes, panhandling, medical concerns or welfare checks, and the department frequently uses a mental‑health co‑responder to assess needs and connect people to services.
Lyons described a range of living patterns — sofa‑surfing, temporary hotel stays, camps, vehicles and caravans — and said staff estimate a majority of those encountered have underlying mental‑health or substance‑use issues. “About 50 percent of those contacted will actually consent to being assessed, for services. With only one third of those that have volunteered to go through that process, will actually complete it,” Lyons said.
The chief listed common barriers: people’s ability to disengage at any point, lack of reliable contact methods (no phone or inability to charge devices), mobility across jurisdictions, lack of transitional housing that would allow caseworkers repeat contact, and limited timely access to mental‑health beds or assisted‑living placement.
Lyons said the department partners with Compass (the mental‑health co‑responder program), code enforcement, fire, public works and neighboring Raymore police on cross‑jurisdictional camps. He described typical camp conditions and the department’s use of drones and lidar for night counts and scene assessment. Lyons said the city cannot unilaterally remove people from private property if the landowner has allowed them to remain, and he encouraged citizens to report camping locations or safety concerns to dispatch.
Council members and staff discussed possible incentives—such as charging bricks—to encourage engagement with caseworkers, but Lyons cautioned about unintended consequences using material incentives and referenced past instances in other communities where well‑intentioned giveaways were misused.
Lyons and council members expressed interest in a local mental‑health court or prosecutorial diversion that could pair deferred prosecution with engagement in treatment, and Lyons said Compass is pursuing grants to expand transitional housing options to improve sustained contact and treatment completion rates.
