Advocates press Durham County to expand HEART and share sheriff call data; sheriff offers co-responder talks

Multiple public speakers and members of the Durham Community Safety and Wellness Task Force used the work session to press the board to prioritize HEART expansion over capital spending. Jennifer Carroll, who described her role with the task force, said the panel "unanimously selected the expansion of the HEART program into the county and into Durham Public Schools as the single most pressing public safety issue in our county." She and others said that access to sheriff call-data is necessary to plan where HEART responders should be deployed and which dispatch-routing changes would be required.

Commissioners and sheriff's staff addressed those requests directly during the presentation and Q&A. A sheriff's office representative said the office can share sheriff call-data while noting the office does not currently collect HEART call records because HEART is a city-operated system. Sheriff Birkhead told the board he has "had these conversations for the better part of 2.5 years about HEART and how I support HEART," and said he would engage on co-responder planning, with the caveat that staff must determine how many HEART personnel and deputy resources would be required to scale countywide.

Managers and commissioners asked staff to return with a timeline and framework to pursue joint planning with the city, the sheriff's office and community stakeholders. Manager Hager said staff expects to come back with next steps in March or April. The board requested specific deliverables: call-data sharing, estimates of HEART staffing needs, and a cost and accountability plan to ensure the county''s investments would be tracked against outcomes.