WHAT: Collier County Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training
WHEN: Monday, Feb. 4
WHERE: National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), Collier County office
5020 U.S. 41 N., Unit #110,
North Naples
(NAMI is located on the east side of U.S. 41 North just north of Outback Steakhouse.)
TIME: 11 a.m. media availability.
Starting next week 16 Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputies will be among the first in Collier County to get special training in handling calls involving people with mental illness.
It’s all part of the Collier County Crisis Intervention Team (C.I.T) training course, which gets under way Monday and ends Friday with graduation.
The effort is a partnership between CCSO and local mental health agencies.
The 40-hour training course, conducted in Collier County for the first time, teaches law enforcement officers specialized skills in dealing with people with mental illness and aims to reduce the number of mentally ill people in jail.
“The ultimate goal is diversion away from the criminal justice system into the mental- health provider network,’’ said Lt. George Welch, C.I.T coordinator for CCSO.
While this is the first time that C.I.T. training has been offered in Collier County, 13 CCSO members have received this training throughout the state.
The CCSO deputies who will be training next week represent each of the six patrol districts, Crime Prevention Section, Youth Relations Bureau and Corrections.
While new to Collier County, C.I.T. training has been in existence for 20 years. It was developed in 1987 to give officers enhanced training related to people with mental illness and teaches de-escalation techniques. The training has proven to reduce injuries and deaths to police and people with mental illness.
