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Sheriff and fire chiefs report: mental‑health dispatch pilot and shelter referral details
Summary
Sergeant Leot reported a sharp increase in mental‑health calls and described a pilot placing a county mental‑health social worker in dispatch to route appropriate calls; he provided the Washington County homeless‑shelter appointment number and emphasized that clients must be screened. The fire chief reported February incident and training hours and upcoming fire‑inspector training.
Sergeant Leot of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office briefed the Newport City Council on March 5 about public-safety trends and new response approaches.
Leot warned that warming weather and thinning ice pose safety risks and described a recent hit-and-run the sheriff’s office resolved with camera footage. He said mental‑health related calls have "gone through the roof," and described a pilot that places a Washington County mental‑health social worker in dispatch so some calls can be handled without deploying deputies. "If a mental‑health call does come in, that person might be able to take that call and potentially give them the resources right there without having to dispatch us," Leot said, describing the approach as a pilot limited to certain hours so far.
Leot also described the county’s coordinated‑response unit (a social worker paired with detectives) as an active, vital resource for the southern county; he encouraged residents to refer people in need to a new county homeless‑shelter intake process and provided the contact number: 651‑430‑6488. He stressed the shelter is appointment‑based and that callers will interact with a social worker who determines eligibility rather than an immediate drop‑off option.
Fire Chief Derek Marson reported department activity for February, including 15 calls in the month and cumulative figures presented as 118 incident hours, 225 training hours and 181 activity hours; he noted four mutual‑aid responses (two to Woodbury, one to Cottage Grove and one to St. Paul Park). Marson said the department will host a fire‑inspector course with Century College, which will increase the total number of fire inspectors to 10 when completed.
Both presenters stood for questions following their reports; the council thanked them for the updates.
