CMPD's crisis team is getting people help and keeping them out of jail

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officers said they are helping people across the Charlotte area get the resources they need before something turns tragic.

In April, CMPD started the Crisis Response Team. Its goal is to get involved before things turn violent.

Since then, we've had some of the most difficult times in our city. There was the deadly shooting at UNC Charlotte in April, and the deadly officer-involved shooting at a south Charlotte Steak ‘n Shake last week.

In both situations, CMPD's Crisis Response Team was there.

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“It was more of a supportive mechanism to help people in the days and weeks to come,” said Keshia Gin, the president of crisis.

Three months after the team launched, the group of officers and mental health counselors said their work has made a difference.

Out of the 250 people they've met in crisis, only two ended up in jail. They said 27 percent went to a psychiatric hospital, while 66 percent went to neither a hospital nor a jail.

Maj. Nelson Bowling talked about one woman. He said she could have gone to jail, but instead they got her help.

"When officers got there, they located the loaded .22 caliber handgun, bullet holes in the house, bullet holes inside. The lady complained that people have been breaking into her house constantly,” Bowling said.

He said officers quickly found out that wasn't the case. He said something else was going on that couldn't be explained.

"She had cut the power to her house. Inside the home the doors were booby-trapped with weights on the doors that would fall on you,” Bowling said.

The crisis team takes people like her and stays with them. They come up with a treatment plan and connect them with a mental health clinician.

"We realize that the end of our shift, that crisis isn't over for that customer. So, it’s important for us to follow up with those individuals to make sure they are getting the treatment and help they are needed," Bowling said.

Bowling said 70 percent of the people they've connected with have seen improvement in their lives.

If you feel you like you could benefit from this team, call 911 and ask for the Crisis Response Team.

Cox Media Group