How it works

Valid candidates are selected

Officers are selected from a list of volunteers from the patrol division and selection is organized to train enough officers to cover each shift.

Candidates are chosen based on their police skill, compassion, patience and the ability to think creatively. Dispatchers, first line supervisors and management personnel should also take the training.

In the Scranton area, CIT has served as a springboard for a broader collaboration between the criminal justice and mental health systems.  Correctional officers, dispatchers, EMTs, hospital safety officers, probation and parole officers and mental health providers have participated in CIT trainings. 

• Mental Health Challenges/Mental Illness Overview
• The mental health system and local resources
• Safe de-escalation techniques/Scenario based training
• Suicide assessment and prevention

• Legal, liability, policy and procedures
• Real life family and consumer perspectives on living with mental illness
• Embracing a global philosophy toward all aspects of cultural awareness, diversity, equality, and inclusion.

• Mental health crisis response is quick
• Consumers are provided care and access to mental health services
• Consumers have enough trust to request CIT officers in a crisis
• Use of force during crisis events will be decreased
• Underserved or ignored consumers are identified by officers
• Mental health consumers will volunteer to serve as integral participants in police training because trust is established
• Mental health professionals will call the police for assistance in a crisis
• Emergency commitment population will decrease as easier access for mental health services is achieved

• Patient violence and use of restraints in the ER (emergency room) will be reduced due to the intervention of the CIT patrol and de-escalation of potentially volatile situations
• Mental health professionals will volunteer and to lend expert instruction/supervision to CIT officers
• Law enforcement officers will be better trained and educated (by using verbal de-escalation techniques)
• There will be less officer injury during crisis events Officer recognition and positive publicity will increase in the community
• Officer “down time” is significantly reduced on a crisis event after being trained as a CIT officer

CIT trained officers are part of a department’s regular patrol division.

A trained dispatcher alerts a CIT officer who is on duty at the time of a crisis to respond. By offering an immediate and calm approach, CIT officers reduce the likelihood of physical confrontation and personal injury to both the officer and the individual.

In Memphis, where CIT has been in operation since 1988, officer injury data has decreased seven-fold since the program’s inception.

CIT trained officers learn safe, verbal, and non-verbal de-escalation techniques that potentially reduce liability.

Ideally, 15-20% of a department’s patrol division should be trained in the CIT to ensure immediate response across all shifts.