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Police chief outlines outreach-driven community policing, peer support and deflection programs
Summary
Chief Kelly told the board the department is prioritizing deflection and partnerships — LEAD, a clinician-staffed care team, overdose follow-up and a violence interrupter contract — and reported declines in several crime categories. He described efforts to add peer-support and officer-wellness programs after recent line-of-duty traumas.
Chief Kelly told the Tompkins County board the department has shifted toward partnership-based work that connects people to services instead of defaulting to arrest.
“One of our big focuses is really deflecting people from law enforcement,” Chief Kelly said, describing partnerships with Reach Medical, Whole Health and other outreach groups. He said the department tries to bring “as many people as we can to the table” and named several programs staff use to connect residents with sustained care.
Kelly described the LEAD model’s weekly clinician check-ins for people identified by officers, courts or community members, and a care team that includes a clinician from Whole Health assigned to the…
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