Major Cities Creating Police-Free Response Teams

NYC’s Police-Free Mental Health Response Team Is Helping People Get Treatment. The NYC pilot program, known as B-Heard, responds to nonviolent mental health calls with paramedics and mental health professionals instead of police.

Only 50% of people treated by the program are admitted to the hospital, compared to 82% with a 911 response. Everyone treated by the B-HEARD program is offered follow up care. 

Other cities have similar programs. Miami’s police task force has a triage team trained in addressing difficult situations at home from violence to potential suicide situations, and help diffuse issues and transfer people to the right level of care, not to hospitals.