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Resident urges Highwood to explore partnership with Lake County crisis outreach team
Summary
A public commenter at the April 21 Highwood City Council meeting urged the city to explore crisis-intervention training and partnerships such as Lake County's COAST to improve outcomes when police respond to people in crisis and requested staff follow-up.
A resident told the Highwood City Council on April 21 that the city should review crisis-intervention options used by neighboring jurisdictions and consider partnerships that pair officers with health professionals.
"When someone calls the police in a moment of crisis, we really want everyone involved to walk away safely," the resident said, urging the council to examine proven approaches including crisis intervention training, de-escalation techniques and co-responder models.
The speaker pointed specifically to Lake County's Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST), saying the Lake County Sheriff's Office runs the program and that surrounding departments such as Lake Forest and Vernon Hills already participate. "They have their own task force. It's called COAST," the resident said, and asked whether Highwood participates or could be added to similar efforts.
Council members and staff asked the commenter to provide the request in writing so they could route it to the police chief and follow up. "Send that to Scott and myself," one councilmember said; staff agreed to pass the materials to the chief and to report back, while noting budget and staffing constraints could limit options.
Why this matters: Crisis-intervention partnerships and specialized training have been shown in some communities to reduce use-of-force incidents and improve connections to behavioral-health services. The commenter asked the city to confirm what training and partnerships Highwood officers currently have and to explore possible grant funding for expanded programs.
Next steps: Council asked the resident to email details to staff (Scott) so the administration can gather information and respond to the chief's office; no formal action or funding decision was taken at the meeting.
