HOW TO RE-IMAGINE POLICING

WITH ALL the hyperbole surrounding defunding or even disbanding police, whether you are for or against the idea, here is an article that proves that policing CAN BE DONE differently:

This town of 170,000 replaced some cops with medics and mental health workers. It's worked for over 30 years

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/05/us/cahoots-replace-police-mental-health-trnd/index.html?utm_source=pocket&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pockethits

A WORTHWHILE - BUT LONG - READ

HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS:

Around 30 years ago, a town in Oregon retrofitted an old van, staffed it with young medics and mental health counselors and sent them out to respond to the kinds of 911 calls that wouldn't necessarily require police intervention.

In the town of 172,000, they were the first responders for mental health crises, homelessness, substance abuse, threats of suicide -- the problems for which there are no easy fixes. The problems that, in the hands of police, have often turned violent.

Today, the program, called CAHOOTS, has three vans, more than double the number of staffers and the attention of a country in crisis.

It's centered around a holistic approach

It always paired one medic, usually a nurse or EMT, with a crisis responder trained in behavioral health. That holistic approach is core to its model.

Around 25% of people killed by police show signs of mental illness, according to one study

"I believe it's time for law enforcement to quit being a catch-base for everything our community and society needs. We need to get law enforcement professionals back to doing the core mission of protecting communities and enforcing the law, and then match resources with other services like behavioral health -- all those things we tend to lump on the plate of law enforcement."

Its staffers are unarmed

Staffers respond to substance addiction crises, psychotic episodes, homeless residents and threats of suicide. They make house calls to counsel depressed children at their parents' request, and they're contacted by public onlookers when someone isn't in a position to call CAHOOTS themselves.

Unlike police, CAHOOTS responders can't force anyone to accept their aid, and they can't arrest anyone. They're not armed, and their uniform usually consists of a White Bird T-shirt and jeans -- the goal is that the more "civilian-like" they look, the less threatened their clients will feel.

The demand for its services continues to grow

With more funding, reallocated from the police budget or another source, the program could respond to even more crises.

Other cities are trying to develop a similar model

The idea of a separate entity in charge of alternative care is more enticing than ever as cities mull over the efficacy of their police departments.

Another city's CAHOOTS may not be called CAHOOTS at all, though it'll probably use another cutesy acronym. It's not likely to satisfy advocates who want to defund the police entirely. But, if done right, it could change the lives of some of a city's most vulnerable people.