Mental health team elevation nods to change

Expansion of the county’s mobile psychiatric crisis intervention team makes sense. Marin has seen a number of instances, some leading to deaths, where police agencies have found themselves in dangerous situations confronting a deranged or distraught perso

An expanded mobile team would provide greater psychiatric expertise in bringing those situations to less violent and tragic outcomes.

To some, the supervisors’ approval of the unit is part of the “defunding” of police movement to transfer money away from police and into social and mental health services.

The county’s move is funded by a $347,000 one-year grant from the California Health Facilities Authority.

One year is not a long time, but it should give county officials some idea regarding how often the crisis team is called upon and the outcomes of those incidents. The county’s current crisis team has been called out to more than 1,900 calls during 2019-20. That extraordinary statistic alone is an indication that it is busy, relied on and needs to be expanded.

That state grant, not police budget cuts, is enabling that — for at least one year.

Front-end and continuous communication, as well as collaboration, between the team and the county sheriff’s department and Marin’s local police agencies must be top priorities.

Supervisor Damon Connolly calls it “partnerships with law enforcement countywide.”

Sheriff Robert Doyle and Novato police Chief Matt McCaffrey’s support for expanding the crisis team is a promising sign.

McCaffrey says police agencies for too long have been called upon to handle emergencies involving mental illness or the homeless when crisis-skilled mental health professionals may be better equipped to handle those incidents.

“Defunding” advocates argue that such a move will deescalate the potential for gun and physical violence that they say is too often the result of police involvement.

Such broad speculation, however, does not give police officers the credit that is due them for the trying experiences they face and the positive successes they’ve had when facing such incidents, including those where others face danger.

This move should not be portrayed as a way to punish the county Sheriff’s Office by reducing its county funding and staffing. Officers likely will still be the first responders to an emergency. Only, they would have a trained team of mental health professionals to call on.

This is a positive enhancement for keeping the peace and providing the right response that such crises might require.