INDIANAPOLIS -- Indianapolis police have taken a big step outside their traditional role as law enforcement in a bid to help the mentally ill.
IMPD has become a data-driven department, and, looking at the numbers, police saw not only an increase in mental health runs, but lots of repeat calls to the same addresses.
The department decided to create a behavioral health unit to deal with both issues.
All six policing districts now have the units, comprised of a specially trained officer paired with a mental health expert. Their mission is to seek out people in crisis and divert them to the appropriate programs and services.
"A lot of people are receptive that the police department is engaged in this service, and they're happy about it," said Officer Tracey Lomax, one of IMPD's new behavioral health unit officers.
Police arrest more than 50,000 people each year across Indianapolis. Law enforcement professionals say as many as half of them wouldn't face arrest if not for their mental illnesses.
Once in jail, taxpayers finance $700,000 in psychotropic medications, another $2.1 million in extra security staffing and $5 million to pay for medical personnel to treat the mentally ill.
Mental health professionals say it's a plus that the community can see police officers in a role not as a law enforcer but as a serve provider there to offer help.
"They're not there to arrest you," said Linda Linn, a crisis specialist for Midtown Mental Health. "They're there to find out what's the problem, how can we help? How can we get resources together, and we're all working together?"
IMPD is at the forefront of departments across the country providing this level of service.
