Police In St. Petersburg, Florida Will No Longer Respond To ‘Non-Violent’ 911 Calls
On Thursday, police in St. Petersburg, Florida announced that starting on October 1 they will no longer respond to “non-violent,” social service 911 calls. Instead, the St. Petersburg Police Department (SPPD) will send a social worker, or akin, via their newly created division, the Community Assistance Liaison (CAL).
The list of issues that will no longer require officers response include: disorderly intoxication; drug overdose; intoxicated person; mental health crisis; suicide crisis; mental health transport; disorderly juvenile/truancy; disorderly juvenile at elementary schools; panhandling; homeless complaints; and neighborhood disputes; etc.
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Additionally, the SPPD noted that in 2019 their department responded to approximately 12,700 out of 259,800 calls for the aforementioned issues. Included in this new plan of action is the hiring of an additional 25 officers over the next two years who will be specialized and trained to now handle the above calls. The department added that they’d monitor the calls that CAL members respond to “for one year to determine whether this approach has been successful or whether officers were still required to respond to these issues in addition to the CAL team member.”
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