CG police work to improve approach with public

CASA GRANDE - Police officers are making efforts to improve how they handle situations involving domestic violence and individuals with mental health disorders.

All Casa Grande officers will undergo an eight-hour course later this month, designed to help them de-escalate incidents with individuals struggling with a mental illness.

"You learn the risk factors and warning signs of somebody in crisis," said Casa Grande Police Chief Mark McCrory, "so you're a little bit quicker to identify a need so you can change your approach on how to handle that situation."

The training won't transform officers into certified mental health experts, McCrory added, but it will hopefully help prevent individuals from "falling through the cracks."

Police officers can be caught in a bind while responding to such calls, he said. The subject may not be doing anything criminal or not exhibiting behavior that can justify involuntary commitment to psychiatric treatment. Yet, there may be family members desperate to find help for loved ones struggling with a mental illness such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, so they turn to police officers as a last resort.

"They're looking for somebody to help and looking for somebody to point them in the right direction," McCrory said.

It then becomes a cycle of officers being routinely called back to these same households with individuals that are still not getting the treatment they need. This training will ideally educate officers on what type of aid a subject needs and point them to where in the community they can get it.

High priority

Mental health training was one of McCrory's priorities after he took over as police chief in February. Casa Grande officers have undergone similar training previously, he said, but this hopefully will bridge better relationships with the city's mental health providers.

McCrory came from the Tulsa Police Department, which has strengthened how it responds to mental health calls. TPD has an officer designated as a "mental health liaison," who trains other officers how to handle people with post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the Tulsa World newspaper.

Law enforcement agencies in Arizona have also taken steps to help citizens that show symptoms of mental illness. The Tucson Police Department has a special unit of officers assigned to participate in a support network of mental health providers and advocates.

Deputies and detention officers for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office recently went through mental health training similar to what CGPD will experience. PCSO spokesman Mark Clark stated the agency witnesses subjects with mental health disorders on a daily basis, so it made sense to equip staff with skills to help them avoid conflicts.

Casa Grande Police initiated the idea to offer this training after the department approached City Councilman Ralph Varela, who is chief executive officer of the Pinal Hispanic Council. With multiple offices throughout the county, PHC offers outpatient counseling services for those struggling with such problems as depression, eating disorders and substance abuse.

Varela said he was pleased to collaborate with the department on a program to help officers better understand the complexities of individuals struggling with drug addiction or anger management.

PHC partners with Cenpatico Integrated Care, the regional behavioral health authority for southern Arizona, which will facilitate the mental health training for CGPD.

In the last decade, Varela said the demand for mental health services has greatly increased in the community. Not only are the numbers higher, he added, but the cases seem to be more severe for individuals posing a threat to themselves or others.

PHC attempts to mediate heavier case loads by prioritizing the 20 most severe cases and re-directing more time and resources to them. Sometimes it's just a matter of following up with someone after a counseling session or monitoring that medication is being taken, Varela said.

Two CGPD officers will receive additional training in an extensive 40-hour course, meant to further re-enforce skills of how to keep interactions with the mentally ill from escalating and possibly resulting in an arrest.

Win trust, show empathy

Another priority Chief McCrory wanted to address after arriving in Casa Grande was the high number of domestic violence cases the city has been observing.

CGPD responded to 642 domestic violence calls last year, which McCrory considers to be high. Over 300 of the calls in 2015 were categorized as resulting in an assault.

At least 200 domestic violence assaults have been reported so far this year.

Casa Grande Capt. Joe Angel Leos has been overseeing some changes the department has made to reduce these numbers. He said the first principle is teaching officers to build trust and show empathy in each domestic dispute.

These types of calls tend to happen repeatedly in the same neighborhood or apartment complex, Leos said, so officers may interact with the same subjects on multiple occasions.

The department is in the process of boosting its efforts to follow up with victims and to make sure offenders are following court-ordered certificates of protection. Police volunteers are being trained to call victims after an incident, Leos said, and one detective is now dedicated to re-visit with victims to make sure they're safe.

Increasing follow-up visits was one recommendation made in a 2010 report by the International City Management Association. In its study of the Casa Grande department, ICMA cited cases where investigators failed to contact victims after incidents.

Having a continuous presence in high-risk neighborhoods, Leos said, will help police achieve a "zero tolerance" status for domestic violence.

Reducing the number of domestic violence cases is not only the responsibility of law enforcement, said Against Abuse Deputy Director Maria-Elena Ochoa, as it takes an entire community to speak out after observing abuse.

Against Abuse Inc. is a nonprofit agency that served about 250 women affected by family violence in Pinal County in fiscal year 2015.

Ochoa facilitated a workshop last month with experts who taught law enforcement officers from all over Pinal County, including Casa Grande, what types of subtle information to document while reporting a domestic violence case, which can impact how a case is later litigated in court.

There is no simple answer for preventing domestic violence, Ochoa added, but not doubting the victim and holding the perpetrator accountable are important factors.

CGP D is now more actively searching for people with domestic violence warrants, according to McCrory. Once a warrant is issued, it's sent to the department's crime analyst, who then immediately sends it out to the field for officers to track.

"We really want those people off the street and we want those people to be incarcerated or be forced to get some sort of help," McCrory said.