Local governments across the United States are considering how they might better respond to emergency mental health crises. Conventionally trained law enforcement officers (LEO) respond to most calls for service, but standard LEO training is often insufficient for calls that involve behavioral and mental health issues. For this reason, “alternative response”—a municipality’s capability for responding to these calls with a better-matched skill set—is garnering interest among many local governments.

• Publication date: June 2023
• Authors: Shayne Kavanagh and Galen McDonald