Arlington expects to lower emergency response times, improve mental health response
Arlington police and fire departments are looking to use money from federal coronavirus relief to improve or expand responses to emergencies and mental health calls.
For Arlington police, that means creating a behavioral health unit, a nine-person team that will work with family and friends of those experiencing mental health issues and will provide resources and training for officers on mental health issues.
Meanwhile, the Fire Department officials asked for money to bring on new employees, equipment and 24-hour response capabilities to reduce the time it takes to respond to calls.
Both agencies’ asks are a part of the budget for 2022, in which city government leaders have prioritized returning city services to pre-pandemic levels and adding new positions using American Rescue Plan dollars. The departments account for a majority of the $19.7 million the city plans to spend in the upcoming fiscal year from the fund. The city plans to spend its remaining $21 million in Rescue Plan funding through 2024.
Arlington Police will use around $1.5 million to bring the behavioral health unit online, which would comprise one sergeant, four behavioral health response officers and four crisis intervention clinicians. The unit would also collect and maintain a database with information on specific issues and “triggers” observed in people they have encountered.
One officer and a lieutenant are now specifically assigned to mental health response, Police chief Al Jones said. The unit could improve police response by working with the community and other local agencies, he said. The new staff could also free other officers to help police tackle violent crime and community building through Operation Connect, which Jones launched earlier this year.
“It’s only the natural progression to be able to move together as an agency and be more progressive in how we’re dealing with the mentally ill,” Jones said.
Thousands of law enforcement agencies around the U.S. have created behavioral health programs based off the Crisis Intervention Team program based out of Memphis, including Jones’ former employer, Baltimore County Police Department. Dallas, Frisco and Plano police departments have launched similar programs, according to the University of Memphis website.
Rescue Plan funds would also enable the police department to hire a police chaplain, three investigative sergeants, four detectives and a Drug Enforcement Agency task force officer.
The fire department will use a chunk of its funding to create six squads — one to man the agency’s public health unit at 2920 S. Cooper St., and five more in high-demand areas along Cooper Street and in west and east Arlington. The department seeks to add 45 new firefighters and two additional public health positions.
Fire Chief Don Crowson said the adjustments will help chip away at the department’s response time. The agency’s average response time was just under 6 minutes in 2019, but has grown to 6 minutes and 22 seconds. The fire department’s average response time goal for 2022 is 5 minutes and 20 seconds.
“This is something we’ve needed for a very long time, and I think this opportunity, quite frankly, will help us be the size of the department we need to be for a city of 400,000 and the demand for services we see here,” Crowson said.
The city expects to spend nearly $118 million to fund the police department and $51.6 million to fund the fire department out of its general fund.
The city will hold town halls surrounding the proposed $552 million budget at 6 p.m. Aug. 23 in the city council chamber at 101 W. Abram St. and virtually at 6 p.m. Aug. 25. City council members will also take up the budget during their Aug. 24 meeting and vote on the proposal Sept. 7 and 14.
