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San Jose council accepts staff report on alternatives to police for 911 calls; directs pilot, outreach and county collaboration
Summary
After a staff briefing on options to expand non-police and co‑response teams for 911 calls, the San Jose City Council accepted the report Feb. 4 and directed staff to pilot contractor retrievals and continue county partnerships and public outreach to expand nonpolice crisis-response options.
City staff presented Feb. 4 an interim status report on efforts to expand alternative and co‑response options for 911 calls, and the City Council accepted the report and directed staff to continue coordination with Santa Clara County and community partners. The presentation summarized existing programs, gaps and near‑term options for alternatives to police response for mental‑health, homelessness and disability‑related calls.
Staff told the council that the county operates several alternative-response teams contacted through 988 and that the city currently dispatches two co‑response services: the Domestic Violence High Risk Response Team (partnered with the YWCA) and PERT (the psychiatric emergency response team) offered in partnership with the county. Staff also described the county’s Trust program, a clinician‑led alternative response the council funded to expand in November 2024, and noted that city polling shows more than three‑quarters of residents remain unaware of 988 services.
Council members and dozens of public speakers pressed for non‑police, civilian‑led responses whenever safe and appropriate. Commenters — including disability advocates, domestic‑violence service providers, mental‑health contractors and residents — urged the council to prioritize non‑police alternative response, warn that co‑response can raise ADA and trust concerns, and ask the city to fund and scale programs such as Trust and 988. YWCA and other service providers requested higher advocate staffing for domestic‑violence follow‑up and warned that demand for assistance already exceeds current capacity.
Staff recommended a layered approach: increase community awareness of 988; expand the city’s 911‑to‑988 transfer capability in coordination with county staff; extend a county Trust pilot using available one‑time funds in the short term; and consider using opioid‑settlement funds to support an extension through June 2026 if the county and the city amend their agreement to meet reporting requirements. Staff said the city would return with a fall 2025 report and suggested piloting further changes while continuing joint planning with the county.
Council members said the city should aim to reduce police involvement in low‑risk responses while preserving public safety for violent or criminal incidents. The City Council voted to accept the staff report and directed further outreach to community stakeholders, continued negotiation with county partners about call transfers and data sharing, and inclusion of early Trust program outcomes in future budget recommendations.
