Buffalo Grove police, hospital partner to address mental health

With a shortage of mental health inpatient treatment facilities, law enforcement is carrying a larger burden in responding to civilians with mental health issues.

In recognition of that fact, Buffalo Grove is partnering with Northwest Community Hospital to ensure that people suffering a mental health crisis that requires a police response can get the help they need.

Police Chief Steve Casstevens told the village board Monday that the partnership is part of the department's participation in the One Mind Campaign of the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

The campaign mandates four steps:

•Developing a policy for responding to calls related to mental illness.

• Training all officers in mental health first aid.

• Providing crisis intervention team training.

• Establishing a clearly defined partnership with a mental health organization.

Casstevens said all sworn personnel in the department have completed mental health first aid training, and half have been trained in crisis intervention.

The agreement approved by the village board Monday states police and the Arlington Heights hospital will work together to ensure that people with known or suspected mental illness, or those who exhibit behavioral health needs related to addiction or emotional disorders, are identified, assessed, receive care and when necessary, transported to an appropriate facility.

"Many police departments are struggling with how to deal with this issue that has landed on their doorstep," Casstevens said. "The three largest mental health facilities in the U.S. right now are Cook County jail, (Los Angeles) County jail and Rikers Island prison. Clearly this is an issue that has fallen into the hands of law enforcement."

In 2016, Buffalo Grove police responded to 159 calls for service related to mental health issues. In 2017 that number increased to 179, and police had responded to 85 calls involving mental health issues as of May 31 this year.

Trustee Jeffrey Berman commended the police department and the hospital for being proactive.

"The purpose (of the agreement) is to ensure that persons receive appropriate care and, if necessary, the opportunity to be transported to an appropriate facility, and I think that's critical, in this day and age, for our police department to embrace that concept," he said.

Casstevens noted that in 1965, there were about 600,000 beds available to those with mental health issues across the nation. Today, there are about 60,000, he said.

"And so it is extremely difficult to find a facility that is willing to treat and is able to treat persons with mental health issues," he said.