Behavioral Crisis Response van Minneapolis

Behavioral Crisis Response (BCR) is a behavioral health

emergency response Emergency services and rescue services are organizations that ensure public safety and health by addressing and resolving different emergencies. Some of these agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies, while others deal wi ...

program in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This program dispatches unarmed mental health professionals to 911 calls. It is run by Canopy Mental Health and Consulting, a

Richfield, Minnesota Richfield is a suburban city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States near the confluence of the Mississippi River and the Minnesota River at Fort Snelling. An inner ring suburb of Minneapolis, it is bordered by Minneapolis to the north, ...

-based company in mental health services, in collaboration with the Office of Community Safety. The program was established in 2021 and has responded to around 20,000 calls as of February 2024.

History

The Behavioral Crisis Response was initiated after an increase in community calls for alternative public safety responses following the

Murder of George Floyd On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...

. The team launched in December 2021, with two vans operating from Monday-Friday, 7:30 AM-midnight. By June 2022, the city was routing 114 BCR calls per week. By April 2022, operations were expanded to 24 hours a day on weekdays, and 9am–4pm on Saturday and Sunday. The initial program implementation also included training for 911 responders in mental health. The 2021–2022 contract was for $6 million over 2 years. Mayor

Jacob Frey Jacob Lawrence Frey ( ; born July 23, 1981) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota since 2018. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, he served on the Minneapolis City C ...

proposed an expansion of the program for the 2023–2024 city budget. The budget expansion was approved and brought the total to $5.9 million annually for 2023-2024. The 2023 investigation of the

Minneapolis Police Department The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) is the primary law enforcement agency in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. It is also the largest police department in Minnesota. Formed in 1867, it is the second-oldest police department in Minnesot ...

by the

US Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

cited several issues with the city's response to mental health calls prior to 2021, noting violations of the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 19 ...

. However, after investigators did ride-alongs with these responders, the report praised the BCR program for their "timely, compassionate, and impactful services."

Program Details

The Behavioral Crisis Response team is run by Canopy Mental Health & Consulting, also known as Canopy Roots. This team of unarmed mental health care professionals and mental health practitioners operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with three vans in the daytime and two overnight. In order to receive a response from the BCR team, mental health crisis calls must not involve weapon(s), physical violence, medical emergencies, or drugs/alcohol. Unlike a police

Crisis Intervention Team A Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) is a police mental health collaborative program found in North America. The term "CIT" is often used to describe both a program and a training in law enforcement to help guide interactions between law enforcement an ...

, BCR dispatches pairs of trained mental health workers without administration by the police, acting more as a

mobile crisis Mobile Crisis, or Mobile Crisis Teams (MCT), are an Emergency service, emergency mental health service in the United States and Canada, typically operated by hospital or community mental health agency. They serve the community by providing emergen ...

unit. Teams are dispatched directly from 911. Responders are dressed in casual navy blue instead of a uniform; they arrive to crises in a white van, without lights or sirens, marked with the City of Minneapolis and Canopy Roots Logos and the letters "BCR". In an arrangement like that between police and fire departments, both BCR and the MPD are able to request assistance from each other when circumstances change. The city also maintains a separate non-emergency response call line, "311". This call line can handle issues such as parking and traffic issues, as well as theft and property damage. Theft and property damage calls are still reported to the police. Parking and traffic issues route through traffic control. The 311 number also only operates from 7 am to 7 pm. From April through June 2022, 1,600 calls were routed through the 311 number.

References

External links

Canopy Mental Health & Consulting Official website

City Behavioral Crisis Response website
Government of Minneapolis Mental health organizations based in Minnesota Emergency services in Minnesota Law enforcement non-governmental organizations in the United States Criminal justice reform in the United States Emergency mental health services {{DEFAULTSORT:Behavioral Crisis Response

History

Program Details

See also

References

External links