PEORIA, Ill. – Peoria Police are doing something other police departments in Illinois are trying, in hopes it will get some legislative support in Springfield.
A mental health counselor will be part of Peoria Police’s Emergency Response plan when the call requires it.
“What I think, I hope, it’s going to accomplish is us being able, as a community, to get the help to those who are either suffering from mental illness, experiencing the stress, getting them the help that they need,” said Eric Echevarria, Peoria Police Chief.
Echevarria says having a mental health “co-responder” from UnityPoint’s UnityPlace could also allow police to respond to other police-related calls instead of to mental health-related calls, depending on the situation.
“On the police side, it allows us, as we create this co-response model, to allow our patrol officers who respond to the 911 calls that we get, to not necessarily need to respond to those calls, essentially, if we have a co-response model in place to make the response,” said Echevarria.
Echevarria says a similar initiative started during his time with Elgin Police, and it proved successful.
Other police departments are trying the method, in hopes that a measure introduced by State Representative Jehan Gordon-Booth will get passed and funded in Springfield.
House Bill 5319, filed by Gordon-Booth on January 28, would create the “Police Plus Mental Health Emergency Response Pilot.”
“This division would have a special response team of officers, and would assist survivors of criminal acts by conducting follow-up visits for those who could benefit from mental behavioral health services,” according to a news release from Gordon-Booth, who did not respond to a request for an interview. “The division would be tasked with helping to coordinate social services with violence survivors, including trauma-informed crisis intervention, assistance with finding safe housing and counseling.”
The bill has been assigned to the House Police and Fire Committee.
