The Prince William Board of County Supervisors approved funding in the FY2021 budget to support a Co-Responder Program consisting of a collaborative effort between the county police department and community services department in order to address mental health calls in the county. 

It consists of three police officers, three clinicians from the community cervices department, one clinical supervisor, and one police lieutenant.

According to the Prince William Police Department’s Public Information Office, through consultation with other Co-Responder Programs across the nation and the local National Alliance on Mental Illness, it was concluded that the model that best fit the needs of Prince William County is the “embedded model.” This model pairs a master’s level mental health clinician with a crisis intervention trained police officer in a marked police cruiser.

Critics of the new program say that police should not be involved in addressing mental health crises in the county. When police are called for mental health crises, the situation is often escalated rather than de-escalated.

The primary responsibility of the Co-Responder Program is to respond to mental health calls, as a team, in an attempt to de-escalate situations involving persons in crisis and offer the appropriate services in the community. As a result, the team can put the person in touch with resources that can assist with their specific needs, which may help reduce the potential for crises in the future. The secondary responsibility of the team is to follow-up with persons that the team has previously assisted or has learned needs outreach.

According to the police department, the goal is to foster supportive relationships with residents and help them connect to services that can provide them with the highest quality of life possible. As the team expands, it will begin taking outreach requests from local agencies, such as Community Services and the Department of Fire and Rescue.

If a county resident is experiencing a mental health crisis that requires emergency intervention, they can contact the Public Safety Communications Center by calling 9-1-1 and requesting either a Co-Responder Team or a Crisis Intervention trained officer. Currently, the three Co-Responder Teams are on duty during the daytime and evening hours, Monday through Friday but not on the weekends.

The teams cover the jurisdictional area of the Prince William County Police Department. Opportunity for expanded time coverage is expected if the team is able to expand in the future.