Law-enforcement officers potentially put their lives in jeopardy every time they make a call. Encounters with a person having a mental-health crisis can be particularly complex, time-consuming and fraught with potential for tragic misunderstanding.
With that in mind, communities across the United States have over the past three decades launched collaborations between police and mental-health advocates that have reduced the use of force and injuries to both officers and citizens in precarious situations, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
But few police departments have resources to help people and families in distress after a call. Now, in a first for South Carolina, the Town of Bluffton has created a position to do just that. See the Hilton Head Monthly story here.
