Senator Bill Larkin Announces Funding for Crisis Intervention

State Assistance To Train Law Enforcement To Handle Incidents

Involving Persons With Mental Illness

Senator Bill Larkin (R-C, Cornwall-on-Hudson) announced today that he has secured state funds for specialized training of law enforcement officers in the City of Newburgh to help them more safely and effectively respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis.

The state assistance will support the establishment of a local Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) which will be comprised of mental health providers and advocates, law enforcement officers, emergency services directors, and families of people with mental illness. The team will develop a curriculum and provide specialized training to help resolve potentially adverse situations involving people with mental illness and law enforcement.

“It is an all too common occurrence that when responding to a situation, police officers encounter individuals with a mental illness,” said Senator Bill Larkin.  “This funding will allow the City of Newburgh to train members of the Police Department to recognize the different types of mental illness and how to intervene appropriately, while assisting officers in ensuring the individuals receive the help they need.  This training has proven very successful in other communities and will make Newburgh a safer place to live.”

The funding was included in the 2014-15 state budget.  The money will reimburse local governments for the costs associated with the crisis intervention training. CIT programs typically provide 40 hours of training for law enforcement. 

The goal of the program is to train up to 20 percent of the patrol force in each locality. Training will also include mental health first aid strategies for first responders to implement.