Mar 25 2021
Communities across the country are looking at options for providing alternative responses to calls for service for nonviolent, low-level incidences such as trespassing, substance misuse-related, or behavioral health episodes. Representatives from Denver, Colorado, will discuss their approach to these calls through their STAR (Support Team Assisted Response) program. Working as a team consisting of mental health clinicians and a paramedic, members of the STAR program are dispatched to call that previously would have been handled by patrol officers. The panelist will discuss the planning and implementation of their program. STAR program members will describe how the program is utilized and discuss early outcomes.