Marion County plans to revive police crisis response team by July
Marion County officials are finally gearing up to return to the streets a crisis response team that includes police after months of delays.
The two-person team expected to take the field in July will pair a mental health worker with a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy to respond to behavioral health calls and calm people in crisis.
County officials say unexpected cost and hiring delays pushed back the team’s expected February start.
The county has run four such teams in recent years with different police departments. They disbanded a year ago because changes to state funding for such programs no longer supported crisis teams that included police, instead shifting to an approach led by mental health experts.
A year after the police crisis response teams were dissolved, federal funding emerged to revive the idea. The Marion County Board of Commissioners last December used a $550,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to bring back one team.
The federal funding, supplemented by county funds, will pay for the team’s operations through September 2027.
The crew will likely operate four days a week in 10-hour shifts, according to Ryan Matthews, the county’s Health and Human Services administrator.
Dispatchers will assign the team to respond to calls, with a deputy and a mental health worker arriving in a patrol vehicle.
Matthews said on Tuesday that the team’s formation was delayed after county officials realized it would cost more than they expected.
“We’ve had to sort of identify local resources to cover that,” he said.
Matthews said his department has already hired a mental health worker for the team, but the sheriff’s office is still settling on a deputy to assign to the work.
Commissioners discussed the team Tuesday with Matthews and Marion County Sheriff Nick Hunter.
The next step is for the sheriff’s office to share a revised budget, according to Matthews. He said the two agencies will then sign a contract for the crisis team with a plan to have the team operating by July 1.
The county previously ran four blended crisis response teams – one with the sheriff’s office, two with the Salem Police Department and one with the Woodburn Police Department.
The sheriff’s team operated for 10 years before it was disbanded. It responded to calls between 8 a.m. and midnight.
As the county prepared to disband the police teams, it created a new team formed with only mental health workers and addiction recovery mentors. That team will continue to operate.
Matthews told Salem Reporter last December that Marion County officials have always supported the police model as an effective way to respond to behavioral health crises.
With both teams now in place, he said the county can collect data and identify gaps in either the police or civilian model. He said that will also help county officials seek future funding through the state Legislature and Oregon Health Authority, or again through a federal grant.
People needing help can contact the civilian team by calling 988, a national mental health crisis and suicide hotline, by calling the Behavioral Health Crisis Center, a 24-7 facility, or through service providers like Northwest Human Services who call to get help for someone.
CLARIFICATION: This story was updated to clarify that Marion County disbanded its previous crisis response teams because changes to state funding for such programs no longer supported those that included police.
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Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered the justice system and public safety for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
