Brooklyn Park Police Launch Mental Health Initiative
Brooklyn Park police will launch a new initiative in June aimed at helping people who suffer from mental health issues. But the program is kicking off months later than planned.
Brooklyn Park police will partner with Hennepin County to embed a mental health professional in the city.
When an officer responds to a mental health call, several days later, a detective and the mental health professional will follow up with the person in crisis.
The hope is that this intervention will reduce the burden on the courts, jails, hospitals, and ultimately, the taxpayers.
“A lot of folks that end up in our misdemeanor queue are a lot of folk that suffer from mental illness,” said Brooklyn Park Police Chief Craig Enevoldsen. “So we’re hoping to partner with our prosecutor and the courts to maybe get those people out of the court system and get them in an area that can better help them.”
The two-year pilot program was supposed to begin in February, but the chief says it’s been a long process to get the mental health professional selected.
The overall cost to the city would be $80,000 each year.
