Coordinated Response: FCPD and Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board Address Individuals in Crisis with Co-Responder Units

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Fairfax County, VA – FCPD and the Community Service Board’s Co-Responder program continues its expansion, enabling us to provide direct mental health treatment to individuals in crisis.

Our Co-Responder Program partners one of our police officers assigned to our Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) with a CSB Crisis Intervention Specialist. The pair ride in a patrol cruiser together and respond to behavioral health calls for service throughout the county. They serve adults and youth undergoing emotional distress who would benefit from crisis intervention services. This distress could be potentially linked to mental health issues, substance usage, developmental disabilities, or other associated concerns.

There are currently three teams of Co-Responders, with a fourth team to be added this fall. The teams are deployed every day, operating between noon and midnight based on peak volume of calls for service related to mental health. The Co-Responder units proactively respond to calls for service that are received by our dispatch.

The goal of our Co-Responder Program is to increase timely, on-scene assessment and de-escalation of behavioral health crises. Their response can mitigate Emergency Custody Orders and provide community-based alternatives for people in crisis. These alternatives aid in alleviating the psychiatric bed placement issues and reserves the beds for those in immediate need.

The units have also been instrumental in educating the community and our officers. In cases of criminal violations, their expertise has provided solutions to ensure that justice for victims is restored and determine long-term solutions. In cases appropriate, the Co-Responder Program assists in diverting community members from arrest, incarceration, and hospitalization.

Our CIT are highly trained police officers who have the knowledge and skills to appropriately manage interactions with individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. FCPD prioritizes this training, which has resulted in the department having more CIT trained officers than the majority of law enforcement agencies. To date, 838 officers have completed Integrating Communications Assessment and Tactics (ICAT) training with the remainder of the Department to finish in September.

The Co-Responder Program aligns with other Fairfax County initiatives, including the Diversion First continuum of services. The Co-Responder Program also aligns with the Marcus Alert, the Virginia law that requires 9-1-1, crisis call centers, law enforcement and behavioral health agencies to work together to improve responses to individuals experiencing behavioral health crises.

The Fairfax County Police Department takes immense pride in our CIT trained police officers and our premier Co-responder program. Working alongside the Community Service Board FCPD is leading transformative changes in aiding our community’s behavioral health response.

On June 6, officers responded to a parking garage in the 2600 block of Park Tower Drive in Vienna for a man who was sitting on the edge of the top deck. Officers engaged the man in conversation and determined he was considering taking his own life. An officer trained in crisis intervention spoke with the man, building a rapport and pleading with the man to step off the ledge. A Co-Responder Unit responded to assist with the conversation. Together, the officer and clinician successfully convinced the man to step off the ledge. The man received further treatment. This is one example demonstrating the success of our Co-Responder Program.

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