Alternative Responses to Crisis Calls in North Carolina

Law enforcement and the communities they serve want effective responses to crime and other problems. They want policing that promotes safety and trust. And they want alternative responses for behavioral and social problems—to safely connect people to services that address root causes of behavior while allowing law enforcement to focus on solving and preventing violent and serious crime. While individual police departments and other community organizations have begun implementing alternative responder programs, there is no common understanding of how many communities are doing so or what the programs are. To address that knowledge gap, the UNC School of Government Criminal Justice Innovation Lab (the Lab) partnered with the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police (NCACP), to execute the Alternative Responder Project. Through a survey of NCACP members, follow-up interviews, and case studies of four departments’ programs, our project report provides information about existing and planned-for alternative responder programs in North Carolina and recommendations from communities engaging in this work. This blog post summarizes some key project takeaways. But first, an explanation—what are alternative responder programs? Alternative responder programs can take multiple forms. They can be police department-based programs, like crisis intervention teams, homeless outreach programs, and case management programs, where specially trained staff respond to crisis calls and/or follow up with individuals in crisis. They can be community-based programs, like mobile teams of mental health, disability, or social service staff that respond to calls alone or in partnership with medical professionals. And they can be co-responder programs, where mental health, substance use, or social service staff [...]