Beyond crisis intervention team (CIT) classroom training: Videoconference continuing education for law enforcement

Area of Science:

• Law Enforcement Training
• Mental Health Response
• Telemedicine Applications

Background:

• Continuing education in Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) principles and best practices is limited.
• Law enforcement agencies require effective strategies for responding to behavioral health crises.
• Traditional training methods may not adequately address the complexities of modern policing and mental health calls.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce CIT ECHO, a novel videoconferencing program for extended Crisis Intervention Team learning.
• To describe the implementation of a program connecting law enforcement to behavioral health experts.
• To outline the evaluation methods for the reach and effectiveness of CIT ECHO.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing videoconferencing technology to connect law enforcement officers with CIT experts and psychiatrists.
• Establishing an online classroom for reviewing behavioral health topics and debriefing complex cases.
• Implementing a project, CIT ECHO, initiated by the Albuquerque Police Department in 2015.

Main Results:

• CIT ECHO successfully connects law enforcement agencies across New Mexico and the nation.
• The program facilitates expert review of behavioral health topics and debriefing of challenging cases.
• Initial implementation provided a model for extended CIT learning and case consultation.

Conclusions:

• Videoconferencing technology offers a viable solution to limited continuing education in CIT.
• CIT ECHO enhances officers' capacity to manage behavioral health crises through expert-led debriefings.
• The program demonstrates a scalable model for improving law enforcement's response to mental health emergencies.