There are more than 100 response teams nationwide, but experts say more research on their impact is needed.

tl;dr, we need more time examples and research to say anything authoritative, but anecdotally things look very positive. One excerpt,

There have been no known major injuries of any community responder on the job so far, according to experts. And data suggests unarmed responders rarely need to call in police. In Eugene, Oregon, which has operated the Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (known locally as CAHOOTS) response team since 1989, roughly 1% of their calls end up requiring police backup, according to the organization. Albuquerque responders have asked for police in 1% of calls, as of January. In Denver, the Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) team had never called for police backup due to a safety issue as of July 2022, the most recent data available. In Durham, members of the Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team (HEART) reported feeling safe on 99% of calls.

Many communities are still sending alternative responders to a narrow subset of calls, and debating whether it’s safe to expand their scope. For example, many cities will only send community responders to situations that are outdoors or in public spaces. Programs are also divided on whether disputes between neighbors or within families are a proper place for crisis responders, or calls involving suicidal threats.

Archived at https://web.archive.org/web/20240725114047/https://www.themarshallproject.org/2024/07/25/police-mental-health-alternative-911

  • jpreston2005@lemmy.worldEnglish
    5·
    1 month ago

    A 2022 study on Denver’s STAR team found a 34% drop in low-level crime in neighborhoods where the team was operating, compared to neighborhoods where it had not yet been rolled out.

    This program is the difference between helping people, and jailing them. Fantastic, send my tax dollars to these programs, please!

    Macias from Atlanta noted that without increasing other social services, like housing and mental health care, the teams risk being merely a Band-Aid for people in crisis. “There’s a lot of pressure put on these response agencies without the local government building up the destination and infrastructure that people need,” she said. “Sure, expand these response teams 24/7, but make sure that at 11 p.m. on a Sunday there’s actually a place to bring somebody to get their needs met. Otherwise you’re just making yourself feel better. But the problem’s not being solved.”

    A very salient point, these programs need funding! Let’s divert half the police budget to them, maybe then that money will actually help our communities, instead of being used to terrorize them.