In a well-functioning crisis response system, the mental health system is primarily responsible for educating the public about the availability of mental health services, reaching out to people who may need ongoing support, and responding to crisis events.

​Law enforcement should play a supportive role in situations where there is a safety or criminal concern, but generally should not be the lead agency simply because a mental health crisis has occurred. To do this, law enforcement officers deserve the very best training, tools, and support.

This ideal is far from the reality for many communities, where crisis services are inadequate and police play a significant role in crisis response. Changing those systems is a slow and gradual process. Historically, law enforcement, who are often very task-oriented, have tried to address the issue on their own, or have been reluctant to relinquish primary crisis response responsibilities to an evolving system of care. Unfortunately, it’s simply impossible for law enforcement to create a safe and humane crisis response system on their own or to take on permanent responsibility for managing every crisis call for service. Instead, law enforcement must work with their partners, look for strengths in the community, and support mental health system partners in shouldering primary responsibility of crisis response services.

​When it is necessary, law enforcement should be able to respond to any situation with the best training, tools and support available. Law Enforcement should be able to respond to a mental health crisis with the expertise and support of a mental health professional. This helps to ensure the safety of the officers, the person in crisis, their family, and the community.

Questions and Answers

Should all officers be trained in CIT?

The purpose of CIT training is to prepare a select group of patrol officers to continue their patrol duties, now with a specialization in assisting people in crisis. Officers learn how to identify and most effectively respond to mental health crisis situations, divert individuals from the criminal justice and juvenile justice systems when appropriate, and help individuals access local mental health services.

​Research has shown that officers who self-select for the role of CIT officer—and are treated as specialists with an important leadership role—perform significantly better than those who are mandated to participate in CIT training. This is called the volunteer-specialist model.

When officers complete CIT training, they return to regular patrol duties with an additional responsibility as a CIT officer who will be dispatched to crisis calls that arise during their patrol shift. While CIT training is highly specialized, CIT officers are not dispatched in a special unit, but as regular patrol officers. During a mental health crisis call, the CIT officer will typically assume responsibility for the scene, even if they are not the first responding officer or the most senior.

This model allows law enforcement agencies to have highly-trained, rapidly-responding officers for crisis situations but does not reduce patrol capacity.​

What type of officers should self select?

When CIT officers respond to mental health crisis calls, they often spend significant time using de-escalation skills. These situations require patience, self-awareness, and compassion. The CIT model demands a high level of independence, self-motivation, and interest in working with this special population from officers to safely and effectively resolve mental health crisis situations.

Should new recruits be trained in CIT?

CIT training is advanced training—it requires officers who have patrol experience, and are able to integrate complex new skills into their current skillset for responding to calls for service. For that reason, CIT training is not appropriate for new recruits. Instead of the CIT specialty, mental health awareness and de-escalation training should be required for all officers and new recruits.

How many officers need to be CIT trained?

There is no specific percentage of officers a law enforcement agency should seek to train through their CIT program. An agency should recruit and train officers until there are enough CIT officers to provide coverage for all districts and all patrol shifts, 365 days a year. In large agencies, this may come out to 20 or 25 percent of officers. In very large urban agencies, the percent may be even higher. In very small agencies, almost all officers may need to be trained to provide adequate coverage.However, training officers who do not have the specific interest, personal motivation, or skills to be CIT officers is not encouraged.

Why should law enforcement care about best practices?

Law Enforcement should be able to work in partnership with mental health professionals when responding to a mental health crisis. Whenever possible, the crisis should be met with with the expertise and support of a mental health professional. When it is necessary, law enforcement should be able to respond to any situation with the best training, tools and support available. This helps to ensure the safety of the officers, the person in crisis, their family, and the whole community.

What is the advantage of the State Certified CIT Program? 

By following best practices, CIT programs can be assured that the right officers who have received the best training are engaged in crisis response. When law enforcement is called to respond to a mental health call, the officers should have the confidence that they have the best training and tools to help keep them and the community safe.

​The CIT program ensures that a mental health professional will be a part of the crisis response and take the lead whenever possible. This approach allows mental health professionals to do their jobs, and allows law enforcement to focus on safety.

​When an officer is trained from a State Certified CIT program, the certification transfers with the officer if they move to another department.

Does CIT work in both urban and rural communities?

CIT works effectively in urban, suburban and rural communities. The unique needs of local communities are taken into consideration and are addressed to build effective crisis response systems.

How can law enforcement support a mental health response?

With best practice CIT, mental health and law enforcement have established relationships and work in partnership to effectively respond to mental health crises. When appropriate, mental health professionals will take the lead in response with law enforcement back-up. In cases where safety is a concern, law enforcement will take the lead with mental health professionals available to offer expertise and support in the response and to connect the person in crisis with mental health services.

How can CIT help my community?

When a program follows best practice CIT, the response to mental health crises has better outcomes for the person in crisis, the family, the officers, and whole communities. Because mental health professionals are involved in the response, the focus is on de-escalation and the person in crisis is more likely to be diverted to the appropriate mental health services, rather than the criminal justice system. In addition, having an effective crisis response system in place, provides a better use of resources and is more cost-effective.

How can I know if my local law enforcement is following CIT best practices, claiming to follow CIT best practices or are not CIT trained at all? ​

Check out the Advisory Council and Coordinators section of our website for more information regarding the areas around the state and coordinators that use the best practice model.  

I’m not a mental health professional, what do expect from me? 

CIT recognizes that law enforcement officers are not social workers and allows law enforcement officers to be law enforcement officers. Because best practices dictate the the officers self-select to become a specialized CIT officer, only those officers with this interest will become CIT officers. Those officers who do become CIT officers work in partnership with mental health professionals. This allows for mental health to take the lead whenever possible, and provides for necessary “back-up” when mental health professionals need assistance from law enforcement.

How does CIT lessen the burden on the criminal justice system as a whole?

The increasing number of persons with mental health conditions stuck in the criminal justice system has enormous fiscal, public safety, health and human costs. Diverting individuals with mental health conditions away from jails and prisons and toward mental health treatment is the best outcome for all of the parties involved. Law enforcement is often the first interaction an individual in a mental health crisis has with the criminal justice system. Diversion from the criminal justice system starts here. How the officers are trained, the partnerships with mental health professionals, and the effectiveness of the crisis response system will determine not only the safety for all involved, but will determine if the individual in crisis goes deeper into the criminal justice system or accesses treatment.

Are CIT officers special units or patrol officers?