Village Police Department Forms Mental Health Crisis Team

ORLAND PARK, Ill. (AP) — The Orland Park Police Department outside Chicago has established a crisis intervention team to help people suffering from severe mental illness and keep them out of jail.

The Daily Southtown reports the team consists of 11 patrol officers. The officers have regular policing duties, but they are the ones who respond when there a person appears to be having a mental health crisis.

That’s when they put their 40 hours of special training to work. They might spend more time than usual talking to a person having a mental health crisis.

The program is a response to the closure of Tinley Park Mental Health Center and a subsequent increase in involuntary commitments for treatment.

The crisis team officially launched in February.

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