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Law enforcement plays role in mental health services

Columbus Telegram - 11/28/2020

Nov. 28--Editor's note: This is the second part of a two-part series on mental health needs and services in the Columbus area.

Law enforcement personnel are part of the system that interacts with people in the midst of a mental health crisis.

"We serve a purpose in the mental health field. In a situation where somebody may be suicidal and barricaded in a residence, I'm assuming your typical counselor is not going to just walk into this house," Platte County Sheriff Ed Wemhoff said.

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training educates law enforcement and corrections personnel on how to properly approach and assess people in mental health crisis.

Columbus Police Department (CPD) Support Division Capt. Douglas Molczyk said the department tries to send three or four officers to CIT training each year, with the goal of eventually getting everyone trained.

"The officers that have received the training absolutely love it," Molczyk said. "The Crisis Intervention Team training has been an asset."

Region 4 Behavioral Health System Director of Emergency Services/Disaster Coordinator Bill Price is responsible for coordinating the use of various programs across 22 counties, including the CIT training for 67 law enforcement agencies.

Some of the trainings focus on how to approach youths and people with severe developmental disabilities.

Price said the CIT training teaches people how to minimize their use of force and use the right tools to deal with people in crisis, both in the community and in correctional facilities. The goal, he said, is to get all law enforcement and corrections personnel trained in crisis intervention.

He said Columbus and Platte County are very proactive with the trainings.

"Every training I have someone from there," Price said.

Price said the same is true of Norfolk Police Department, South Sioux City and other smaller agencies.

Members of law enforcement can also call upon other services to do an evaluation, make recommendations about how to proceed and connect the person in crisis with help.

But that's not always well-suited to extremely time-sensitive situations, Molczyk said.

When someone is a danger to themselves or others, officers may take them into Emergency Protective Custody (EPC). EPC is a non-voluntary level of care where officers may take someone and transport them to get help.

When CPD does take someone into EPC, CPD may transport the person to a facility with an in-patient psychiatric wing.

"We don't have any facilities in Platte County that are capable of handling Emergency Protective Custodies," Molczyk said.

Since there is not an in-patient psychiatric unit in the Columbus area, those in EPC are usually taken to Faith Regional Health Services in Norfolk (a hospital) or Richard Young Behavioral Health Center in Kearney (part of the CHI Health system), Molczyk said.

There was once also a regional mental health center in Norfolk and in Hastings, but the state did away with those many years ago, said Price.

In an ideal world, Molczyk said, there would be a facility within 20 minutes. But that's never been the case.

There's not a definite pattern when it comes to the frequency of EPCs, Molczyk said, but there is often one or more a week. From January through October, there were 68 EPCs involving Platte County residents.

That doesn't cover all the times officers are involved in a situation with a mental component, though.

"I believe it's probably daily that we're talking to somebody," Molczyk said.

Molly Hunter is a reporter for The Columbus Telegram. Reach her via email at molly.hunter@lee.net.

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