Long-time readers will recall some posts concerning the CAHOOTS program of Eugene, OR, in which mental health specialists are sent to emergency calls specifying a mental health emergency, rather than police. Denver has implemented something similar and is reporting success:
Cities across the US, including New York, Washington DC and San Francisco, are experimenting with programmes to address mental health emergencies without police involvement. After the implementation of a pilot programme in Denver, Colorado, non-violent crime rates decreased by 34 per cent in participating police precincts.
The Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) Program in Denver involves mental health specialists and paramedics responding to non-violent emergencies instead of police. [NewScientist (18 June 2022, paywall)]
Is that decline due to simply not reporting the incidents handled by STAR as crimes? And is that inappropriate? Maybe not.
But…
There was no impact on rates of violent crime.
But also ..
“[People] might be concerned that not having police at lower-level crimes might lead to an escalation of something more violent, and that simply did not happen,” says Dee.
I wonder how the combined budgets of police and mental health compare to the budget for the police prior to the initiation of the STAR program. Some hint is given:
STAR was also more cost-effective than traditional police programmes. Dee says that in six months, STAR prevented an estimated 1376 criminal offences and cost $208,141. That implies a cost of $150 per offence prevented, says Dee. In comparison, minor criminal offences cost the criminal justice system an estimated $646 each due to related expenses like imprisonment and prosecution.
