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Modesto Police outlines MSERT, CIT training and county behavioral-health partnership
Summary
Captain Chris Adams described Modesto Police Department's mental-health response: a 40-hour CIT program attended by most officers, a revived MSERT (two BHRS clinicians riding with patrol), monthly countywide coordination, and use-of-force and de-escalation guidance under 5150 and AB 392.
Captain Chris Adams of the Modesto Police Department presented the department's collaboration with Behavioral Health and Recovery Services (BHRS) and described the Mobile Crisis Emergency Response Team (MSERT) and related training on May 20.
Adams said mental-health topics are woven throughout academy training in addition to 15 hours of academy coursework, and the department runs five annual training days that integrate real-world scenarios. "This 40 hours is jam-packed with information that helps our officers really understand what it's like to respond to a mental health call for service," he told the board in reference to the Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) course he said BHRS leads and MPD hosts.
MSERT, revived in 2022, pairs BHRS clinicians with identified patrol officers; Adams said two clinicians currently ride with patrol during daytime hours and that MSERT handled 72 calls in the last year. He said clinicians can follow up in the field, support threat-assessment work and improve coordinated responses. Adams said the department chose not to adopt a non-response model for mental-health calls and instead emphasizes supervisory review and clinician engagement when possible.
Board members asked about coverage (clinicians are daytime; county clinicians can be called outside those hours but with longer response times), dispatch training (whether dispatchers are included in CIT was not confirmed at the meeting), and data breakdowns (staff said they can provide additional call-level and homeless-related statistics on request). BHRS's Carrie McGee confirmed the county participates in broader collaborative meetings with hospitals, first responders and community partners.
Adams said MSERT funding comes via Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) dollars and that the city continues to seek sustainable funding for the program; he did not provide an end date for current funds but said CCP has been supportive.
The board expressed support for continued coordination and training; staff and BHRS agreed to follow up with additional data on MSERT call types and staffing coverage.
