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Cochise County sheriff highlights care team as 911 alternative, credits Legacy Foundation support
Summary
Leaders from the Cochise County Sheriff's Office described an expanded 'care team' that responds with 911 dispatch to behavioral-health and other noncriminal crises, saying the unit connects residents to treatment, housing and other services and reduces arrests and jail bookings.
Dr. B, leader of the Cochise County Sheriff's Office care team, told KWCD's First Watch that the unit is an alternate 911 response for behavioral-health and other crises that are not primarily crime, fire or medical emergencies.
"So the care team is the the care team is the community assistance, response, and engagement team. And we are an alternate response unit within the Cochise County Sheriff's Office," Dr. B said. She described the unit as part of emergency services that dispatches on calls the county's CECOM/dispatch center deems appropriate for behavioral-health or de-escalation assistance.
The care team, Dr. B said, responds when a scene is deemed safe by law enforcement or when multiple agencies and a family are overwhelmed and need noncriminal support. "Sometimes, it is for obvious behavioral health reasons. They have something in the lines of anxiety, depression, hallucinations...We connect them to mental health services," she said.
Sheriff Mark J. Daniels framed the team as a tool to…
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