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Police outline expanded care team, cite higher reported mental‑health calls and regional gaps in inpatient beds
Summary
Chief Couch briefed City Council on the Police Department’s expanded mental‑health response: two full‑time care‑team positions, 20 crisis‑intervention officers, stronger tracking that raised incident counts to about 1,300 per year, partnerships with MHMR and area hospitals, and limits caused by lack of a local inpatient psychiatric bed.
Police Chief Couch told the College Station City Council on Jan. 8 that the department has expanded its crisis response with two full‑time care‑team positions and a 20‑member crisis intervention team, and that better tracking explains a recent rise in recorded mental‑health incidents.
“Prior to going full time in ’24…we had an average of about 700,” Couch said, adding that after hiring full‑time staff and improving report coding the department is now “seeing…about 1,300 per year” of incidents identified as involving a mental‑health consumer. He said the care team now carries caseloads, conducts…
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