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Aurora outlines crisis-response teams, sees most calls resolved without involuntary transport
Summary
City staff described expansion and operations of Aurora’s unarmed and co-responder crisis programs — the Aurora Mobile Response Team, Crisis Response Team and a Targeted Violence Prevention unit — and said data show most 2024 contacts remained voluntary and people stayed in the community.
Callie Tucker, Crisis Intervention Program Administrator in Aurora’s Housing and Community Services department, briefed the City Council on the city’s crisis-response units and said the programs combine clinician-led responses with medical or police partners.
“I am Callie Tucker. I’m the Crisis Intervention Program Administrator within Housing and Community Services,” Tucker said, outlining the Aurora Mobile Response Team, the Crisis Response Team and the Targeted Violence Prevention program that operates within CRT.
Tucker described three staffed models: the Aurora Mobile Response Team (AMRT), a clinician paired with an EMT for lower-acuity behavioral-health calls; the Crisis Response Team (CRT), a clinician working with an Aurora Police Department officer for higher-acuity responses; and the Targeted Violence Prevention (TVP) program, a clinician-officer-case manager team that conducts outreach and direct interventions to prevent targeted or mass violence. All teams include case managers who provide follow-up and connect people to services.
Tucker presented 2024 program data and said both AMRT and CRT saw growth in call volume. “The vast majority of individuals who had contact with AMRT remained voluntary and the call was resolved on scene,” she said. She gave the same summary for CRT, noting CRT also responded to more than 1,000 additional non–behavioral-health calls in 2024 because of the unit’s law-enforcement pairing.
Staff described recent operational changes: CRT expanded hours to provide earlier and later coverage without adding units, and AMRT is hiring a clinician to stand up a third AMRT unit scheduled Sunday through Wednesday that will create weekend crisis coverage for the first time. Tucker said the best way to request these teams for immediate response is to call 911 or the nonemergency line; a city email address is available for less-urgent requests.
Council members asked how the program plans for growth. Council Member Lawson asked whether staff factor population growth into planning. Tucker said the teams use 911 call “heat maps” and dispatch tags that record when a crisis unit was requested but unavailable to identify emerging geographic gaps.
The presentation also listed partner organizations and supervisors: the program is housed in Housing and Community Services and partners with Aurora Police Department; clinicians and case managers are contracted through UCHealth and medical partners include Falk Ambulance Service. Tucker supplied contact information for program leads and a web link to program pages for more detail.
Council members thanked staff for the presentation and acknowledged it as a growing city resource.
The council did not take formal action on the program during the presentation; staff answered questions and said they will return with further details as needed.
