Like many police agencies, the Houston, Texas, Police Department (HPD) has seen an increase in public demands over the past several years in responding to those individuals exhibiting a mental illness. Since 2010, Houston has seen a 62 percent increase in mental health–related calls for service and a 41 percent increase in handling persons with a mental health crisis.¹ To safely and adequately respond to the public’s needs in this arena, HPD developed a collaborative partnership with the local mental health authority in Harris County, the Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disability (IDD). HPD’s goal was not to take over the mission of assisting persons in mental health crisis in Harris County; rather, HPD sought to use a collaborative approach toward delivering needed services to this vulnerable population. This approach benefits the department and the individuals in mental health crisis by limiting future unnecessary police responses and diverting individuals to more appropriate providers while ensuring the safety of all involved persons (officers, civilian partners, and individuals in need of mental health services).

HPD’s creation of a nationally recognized crisis intervention program carried with it some lessons learned that may be of value to other police agencies engaging in a similar program, including in the areas of training, co-deployment, and diversion programs.