INDIANAPOLIS – A new department created by IMPD aims to improve the city’s response to mental health emergencies.
IMPD Chief Chris Bailey announced the creation of the Operational Support Bureau in February. The police major tasked with leading these efforts spoke for the first time about the department's plans.
The Office of Administrative Support essentially acts as a central hub that connects the various mental health teams. There are challenges when it comes to expanding the available staff, so the goal is to use existing resources efficiently.
Every day, IMPD officers are dispatched to 911 calls for mental health emergencies. As such, the Ministry is working to improve its response to these incidents while addressing the limitations.
“Mental health is a big issue, but we don't have enough resources in the city. We don't have enough clinicians to help,” said IMPD Maj. Tabatha McLemore.
There are now part-time Mobile Crisis Support Teams in every neighborhood in the city, with police officers and clinicians responding together. However, the clinicians are Eskenazi employees and not full-time, so the team only works during the day and not on weekends.
Eastern Regional MCAT hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. His one team in the northwest region will also work from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. All other districts will work from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with his second team in the North West.
“We need clinicians to be effective, and there is currently a shortage of clinicians in the city,” McLemore said.
Clinician-led response teams do not include a law enforcement presence and are available 24/7, but only in the Downtown and East areas.
“The department's goal is to make mental health operations within IMPD more efficient,” McLemore said.
Major McLemore is the director of IMPD's new Operational Support Directorate. Her job is to better coordinate mental health resources so people in need can access services faster.
“It's like a one-stop shop,” McLemore said.
In addition to limited staffing and hours, McLemore also pointed out that IMPD's mental health team does not respond to violent crimes.
For example, when police were called to investigate a shooting in which a man was fatally shot by a police officer on Sunday night, witnesses said he appeared to be in a mental crisis and had a history of suicidal behavior. When a claim is made, the MCAT or CLCR team will investigate. We cannot support you regardless of the day of the week or time.
“The most important thing is that we are there to provide resources, but our personnel must also protect the safety of civilian clinicians,” McLemore said.
While there are currently no plans to expand MCAT's hours, it is hoped that the CLCR team will eventually expand across the city, although there is no exact timetable for that.
