Louisville Metro Police Department: A Review of Our Crisis Intervention Team and De-escalation Training

Louisville Metro Police Department: A Review of Our Crisis Intervention Team and De-escalation Training

Executive Summary Due to various high profile incidents around the country, on December 18, 2014, an executive order was signed establishing a task force on 21 st Century Policing. The task force was charged with identifying nationwide best practices and offering recommendations on how policing practices can promote effective crime reduction while building public trust (Attachment 1: Copy of Report). When the final report was released in May 2015, police agencies across the nation took notice. Professional policing associations and international organizations endorsed the recommendations and many law enforcement agencies began implementing them. During the summer of 2015, the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) command staff took part in an exercise to review the 21 st Century Policing Report. This review included past and current practices as it related to the recommendations. For those areas identified as non-compliant or needs improvement, the LMPD developed initiatives to address those deficiencies (Attachment 2: 21 st Century LMPD Workbook). In May 2016, the LMPD was chosen as one of only fifteen departments, across the nation, to be a model department for implementing the 21 st Century Policing Report. The LMPD serves as an implementation how to guide for departments across the nation. The 21 st Century Policing Report recommended all police departments make Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) a part of both basic recruit and in-service officer training (Pillar 5, Recommendation 5.6). CIT is a first responder model of police-based crisis intervention with community, health care and advocacy partnerships. The program promotes community and statewide solutions to assist individuals with mental illness. Officers are trained to identify signs and symptoms of mental illness. The CIT program was developed in Memphis, Tennessee in 1998. It was recommended as a model program by the task force. The Louisville Police Department started a CIT program, modeled after the Memphis program, in 2001. In 2003, the Louisville Police Department merged with the Jefferson County Police Department to form the LMPD. CIT was incorporated into the LMPD Police Academy. Since 2003 all new recruits have been CIT-certified. Over 98% of the LMPD patrol officers are CIT-certified. Officers receive updates and additional CIT training on an annual basis (Attachment 3: LMPD Training Updates).

The task force recommended departments should ensure basic recruit and in-service training includes curriculum on the disease of addiction (Pillar 5, Recommendation 5.8). Addiction training is included in the CIT course, with treatment facilities being consulted for the course curriculum. The LMPD also has a course dealing with addiction in law enforcement and recognizing addiction in co-workers (Attachment 4: CIT Curriculum). The task force also recommended that the use of physical control equipment and techniques against vulnerable populations, including people with physical and mental disabilities, can undermine public trust and should be used as a last resort. It further stated law enforcement agencies should carefully consider and review their policies if none are in place (Pillar 1, Recommendation 1.5.4). The LMPD already had policies in place to deal with persons with mental illness and added some additional ones based on the recommendations in the report (Attachment 5: SOPs 12.11, 12.20, 8.42, 10.3 and 10.6). LMPD also is working with community partners to ensure our training is the best it can be. By partnering with local mental health professionals, mental health consumers and family member advocates, the department has become a model for other communities in dealing with mentally ill citizens. Over 1,000 officers from over 80 different police agencies throughout the state of Kentucky have gone through the LMPD CIT program. The 21 st Century Policing Report is rooted in several key philosophies: procedural justice, implicit bias and de-escalation. The task force recommended de-escalation be emphasized during use of force training (Pillar 2, Recommendation 2.2.1). The LMPD started offering de-escalation/skills enhancement classes in 2014. Every recruit class since 2014 has received de-escalation training. Procedural justice, implicit bias and de-escalation were included in our mandated 2015 in-service training. In 2016, our mandated in-service training included a two hour block covering active listening, the importance of active listening skills when dealing with the mentally ill and effective de-escalation techniques that can be used in an officer s personal and professional life. The LMPD currently teaches two (2) separate mandatory de-escalation blocks during each mandatory in service class. One two hour block titled De-escalation Tactics. During this class, officers identify techniques they can use to

slow down an incident; explain the concept of time, cover and distance; list resources they can use to de-escalate a situation; and review the policy on de-escalation. Officers also participate in scenario-based training at the LMPD tactical house where they are presented with three different scenarios. Officers are required to use de-escalation techniques in order to pass this portion of the training. Officers also attend a one hour block called De-escalation Communications. During this class, officers are taught effective crisis communication techniques (Attachment 6: Copy of Course Curriculum). In 2015 and 2016 the LMPD updated its use of force policy to include de-escalation tactics (Attachment 7: SOPs 9.1, 12.6 and 12.21). The LMPD policy requires officers to articulate de-escalation tactics in all uses of force. This is documented on all use of force forms. The LMPD contacted other police departments associated with the Major Cities Chiefs Association to find out how we compare in regards to CIT training and de-escalation. We asked these departments about their CIT programs and their training/policies on de-escalation. We received information from 13 police departments: Charlotte-Mecklenburg North Carolina PD, Cleveland Ohio PD, Columbus Ohio PD, Denver Colorado PD, El Paso Texas PD, Houston Texas PD, Indianapolis, Indiana PD, Lexington Kentucky PD, Omaha Nebraska PD, Scottsdale Arizona PD, Seattle Washington PD, Toledo Ohio PD and Virginia Beach, Virginia PD. Only two police departments have all of their patrol officers CIT certified. The LMPD has over 98% of its patrol officers CIT certified. Most departments are now training all of their recruits, but still have senior patrol officers without CIT training. Some departments have CIT teams that have to be paged out and are not available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The LMPD always has a CIT officer working. A few departments do not have CIT programs. Only one other department has both de-escalation training and de-escalation policy/procedures. Many agencies have some sort of de-escalation training, but no policy/procedures. Several departments have no deescalation training or policy/procedures. The LMPD has completed 351 different initiatives within the six pillars of the 21 st Century Policing Report. Some of these initiatives directly impacted our CIT training, de-

escalation training and our policy and procedures. All of these initiatives are considered best practices and were recommended by the top professionals in the law enforcement community. The LMPD is participating in the Dual Diagnosis Cross Functional Team (DDCFT). The DDCFT has been focused on identifying innovative and systemic solutions for coordinating and delivering care to individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders, known as familiar faces or high system users, who rapidly and repeatedly revolve in and out of the local criminal justice, treatment and service systems. The DDCFT is preparing for the launch of the Community Care Management Network (CCMN) Pilot, which will use the Homeless Management Information Systems (HMIS) for client tracking, information sharing and case coordination purposes. The DDCFT is also working to identify pre-arrest diversion pathways and protocols for individuals with suspected mental illness and/or addiction issues. As a subcommittee of the DDCFT, the Public Safety Protocol Task Group was specifically tasked with developing a range of options and alternate resources that can be used by community first responders on an immediate basis to divert appropriate individuals away from the jail or emergency room. The task group conducted research on national evidence based models for law enforcement diversion and selected the Seattle Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Program. The LEAD Program was launched in Seattle in 2011 as an innovative pre-booking, community based program to divert individuals suspected of committing low-level drug and prostitution offenses to case management and supportive services instead of jail and prosecution. The LEAD Pilot project offers a new local approach in which police would exercise discretionary authority at the point of contact to divert 50 individuals from designated police beats in the Russell and Portland neighborhoods, into a community based, harm-reduction intervention for offenses driven by substance abuse addiction involving opioids. The goals of the project include reducing the criminal justice system involvement of individuals suffering from primary opioid addiction by providing a pathway for pre-arrest diversion; improving outcomes for individuals suffering from primary opioid addiction by providing access to intensive case management and a broad range of treatment services within a harm reduction framework; and adding to the national body of knowledge and research base

regarding implementation of the LEAD Program. In April 2017, the Metro Criminal Justice Commission (MCJC) on behalf of the LEAD Planning Team submitted and was awarded (September 2017) a grant application to the Bureau of Justice Assistance for the Comprehensive Opioid Site-based Program, System Level Diversion and Alternatives to Incarceration. The LEAD Pilot planning phase began in early October, 2017. The Pilot will include a six month planning phase, an 18 month demonstration phase and a 6 month evaluation period. The LMPD is also participating in The Living Room Demonstration Program a collaborative project with the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections, Louisville Metro Council, Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness and Centerstone of Kentucky. The Living Room Demonstration Program will be a calming, alternative space for guests to collect themselves, receive support and connect to resources for recovery from symptoms of mental health and substance abuse issues. The Living Room will provide a compassionate alternative to arrest, incarceration, and higher levels of care through consumer supported services delivery. The goals of the Living Room include: improve public safety, decrease LMPD encounters, divert persons pre-arrest from jail and increase immediate resource connection for those in need. The Living Room will provide its guest with: A welcoming, customer service focused recovery oriented environment Intervention, support and mentoring from peer counselors with personal experience in managing the challenges of mental illness and substance abuse. Linkage to expert professional support from a dedicated a licensed clinician Linkage with referrals for emergency housing, healthcare, food and mental health services Creation of a follow up plan for continued services and support upon discharge for all guests. The current goal is a soft opening of the Living Room Demonstration Program in early 2018 in the 4 th Patrol Division and an official opening of scaled capacity in late 2018. Moving forward the LMPD should continue to seek training opportunities to enhance our CIT and de-escalation training. There is a program currently being offered through the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) the LMPD should consider. PERF is a national

membership organization of police executives primarily from the largest city, county and state law enforcement agencies in the United States. The organization is dedicated to improving policing and advancing professionalism through research and involvement in public policy debate. PERF is currently offering a training program called ICAT: Integrating Communications, Assessment and Tactics (Attachment 8: ICAT Training Guide). This training represents a new way of thinking about how police officers can be taught to effectively and safely defuse critical incidents by bringing together communication skills, through assessment of the situation and tactical strategies. The entire ICAT approach is centered on a critical decision-making model, which gives officers an organized process for thinking through challenging situations and making decisions that are effective and safe for themselves and the public. Many police agencies (Lexington Police Department, Denver Colorado Police Department, Houston Police Department, Indianapolis Police Department, Seattle Police Department and Toledo Police Department) are already providing training in some of these concepts, such as our CIT training and de-escalation tactics. However, what is missing is the integration of communications, assessment and tactics, especially when responding to persons in crisis. ICAT fills the gap in training for these types of dynamic and potentially dangerous encounters. The ICAT training program provides new options to traditional approaches to police use of force. This training combined with the LMPD s CIT and de-escalation training would allow us to stay at the forefront, when it comes to dealing with persons with mental illness.