Like many small cities across the nation, Columbia Heights, Minnesota—a suburb of Minneapolis—had become plagued by mental health and substance abuse problems over a period of several years. As a result, calls to the Columbia Heights Police Department (CHPD) increased approximately 22 percent from 2018 to 2022. However, there was no increase in personnel to handle them, and response to calls for crisis situations requiring medical transport were even more challenging because of staff shortages.

The department had emphasized timely responses to calls before the spike in drug-related calls, requiring all new officers to attend crisis intervention training (CIT). They were also trained in the Integrating Communications Assessment and Tactics (ICAT) program, which gave them tools, skills, and tactics for defusing a variety of incidents. But even with these skills, handling mental health calls in a timely, effective, and compassionate manner was becoming increasingly difficult. So CHPD Captains Erik Johnston and Matthew Markham looked for innovative solutions that would enable small to midsize departments like theirs to provide better service to the community.

They realized that though their officers were highly trained to handle crisis situations, they did not have the professional mental health training that could not only enable successful outcomes but also reduce the number of incidents requiring transport to a health facility. So they established a partnership with Canvas Health, a nonprofit Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) that offers programs and services to people living with mental illness, substance use disorder, and other challenges.

Chief Yaniero added, “Our dispatchers have been trained to recognize what types of calls warrant what kind of response. For instance, the mental health team will be dispatched to respond to a mental health crisis. Another officer will go out to help somebody who wanders away or has a cognitive issue.”

Mental health assistance reduced the need for transport and use of force

In 2019, the CHPD and CCBHC launched the Columbia Heights Collaborative Crisis Intervention Program (CCIP), an initiative that enabled the embedding of Canvas Health social workers with officers responding to crisis calls. These clinical social workers—who are trained in mental health—are employed by Canvas Health, receive clinical supervision, and make direct referrals to county crisis services. When needed, they consult with other mental health and substance use disorder professionals on the best type of care and resources to offer individuals and families. Working side by side with officers on crisis calls, the social workers provide on-the-spot help as well as connection to needed resources and services. In many cases, their assistance can reduce the need for medical transport, which gives the accompanying officer more time to respond to other calls.

Another benefit of embedding licensed mental health clinicians has been the reduction in use of force incidents. Between 2018 and June 2021, the police department determined that mental health was a factor in about 30 percent of use of force situations. In most of these cases, the level of force was minor, usually involving handcuffing or placing a person in restraints into an ambulance. However, the CHPD wanted to further reduce the need for force, and with the assistance of embedded social workers, it has accomplished that. In 2022, the department engaged with more than 300 individuals through the program. Ninety-seven (97) percent of all these contacts resulted in a successful resolution without the need for force. What’s more, 94 percent of them resulted in a resolution without need for a medical hold, which reduced the number of officer transports. Although these individuals previously had numerous contacts with the police, their interactions with the department decreased significantly because the embedded social workers can now follow up with them without need for a police response.

Overall, CCIP has been successful in the following ways:

• Providing better service to the community overall
• Improving relationships and building trust
• Diverting more people from hospital emergency rooms
• Enabling officers on the scene to connect individuals with needed resources
• Providing sustainable positive outcomes for more persons in crisis
• Decreasing calls and incidents involving mental health and substance abuse

Although CCIP provided many benefits to the police department and was widely accepted amongst community leaders and the city government, the implementation of the program involved significant cultural changes in the department because bringing in external civilian resources was a new strategy and outside of the traditional patrol model.

Managing implementation of an unusual police partnership

To promote successful implementation, CHPD command staff worked with Canvas Health to introduce the program in a way that emphasized its benefits. They laid out very clear policies and communicated with the rank and file to get buy-in from the officers as well as the external community stakeholders. An internal survey showed that they were successful in doing so. All CHPD staff said they valued this program, and 73 percent of the officers said that it reduced the number of times when force would have been needed during crisis calls. Officers also said that this program made their jobs easier and provided higher quality service to the community, especially to people in crisis situations who needed services that a traditional police response could not provide.

In many ways, the CCIP has also helped to change the way that officers viewed crisis calls. In the past, an officer might pass the call onto someone else—either through a medical transport hold or via a written referral that could take days, if not weeks, for a follow up from a mental health professional. By contrast, the CCIP’s hands-on collaborative approach provides immediate help from professionals who are equipped and trained to handle these incidents.

To manage the program, Canvas Health representatives meet with Captains Johnston and Markham quarterly to discuss the program, ensure that it is as effective as possible, and decide if any changes should be made. As a result, minor schedule changes have been implemented to maximize the amount of time the social workers spend in the field. The social workers also now give ongoing roll call training to line staff, providing additional mental health training, and receiving critical feedback from sworn staff.

Like law enforcement in many cities, one of the JPD’s biggest areas of concern is drug and substance abuse. The department adopted a program called Comprehensive Opioid Stimulant and Substance Use Program (COSSUP) in 2019 with funding from a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance.

Enthusiastic support for all stakeholders

Early on, the Columbia Heights City Council was very supportive of the CCIP and received a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Policing Services (COPS Office) to help fund the program. Elected leaders in Columbia Heights have continued to be champions of CCIP and are committed to the program’s success. According to CHPD leaders, it has been one of the most impactful initiatives in the last 30 years of the department's history. The CCIP has also been well received by the school district, community leaders, residents, and the faith community.

Said Reverend Michelene Verlautz, Pastor at St. Timothy's Lutheran Church in Columbia Heights and a licensed mediator, “Since the program began, our congregation has noticed a decrease in the number of people in crisis coming to the church seeking help and a decrease in minor property damage. We are convinced that the community partnership formed by [the] CHPD, and the embedded social work initiative has created a healthier community for all.”

Faye C. Elkins
Sr. Technical Writer
COPS Office

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