York County commissioners hire co-responders to respond to mental health crises
Intelligencer JournalSep 04, 2021
Police in York County will soon have a new type of backup to call to the scene.
York County commissioners secured
Co-responders will serve as liaisons between police and the county’s mental health program to respond to mental health crises in the area. These co-responders are not police officers.
York County District Attorney
Rather than incarcerate these individuals, a co-responder can de-escalate the situation and connect them with services.
Sunday told WITF the goal is to have a co-responder assigned to each of York’s 20 police departments.
The program is part of York County’s efforts to take a different approach to law enforcement stemming from a grand jury inquiry into a prison inmate death.
Just under three years ago,
Palmer’s mother filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in
In addition to the co-responders program, over 167 police officers across 19 York police departments have been trained in the Memphis Model of Crisis Intervention, according to the 2021-22 York County Human Services budget proposal. The Memphis Model of Crisis Intervention is a curriculum to educate law enforcement in responding to mental health crises.
And York isn’t the only county to face a wrongful death lawsuit against its police and government.
Last year,
Lancaster city Mayor
What to Read Next
Crédito: