By the International Association of Chiefs of Police
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The IACP has launched a re-designed One Mind Campaign webpage to better assist pledged departments in implementing the four strategies of the campaign and to encourage other agencies to take the pledge, according to the IACP blog.
Since its inception in March 2016, the One Mind Campaign has focused on four promising strategies to guide departments as they seek to improve their interactions with persons affected by mental illness:
- Establish a clearly defined and sustainable relationship with at least one community mental health organization
- Develop and implement a written policy addressing law enforcement response to persons affected by mental illness
- Demonstrate that 100 percent of sworn officers (and selected non-sworn staff, such as dispatchers) are trained and certified in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)
- Demonstrate that 20 percent of sworn officers (and selected non-sworn staff, such as dispatchers) are trained and certified on the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training.
The new website features a map showing the participating agencies within the United States and abroad, and a resource page with links to the Model Policy on Responding to Persons Affected by Mental Illness or In Crisis and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Police Mental Health Collaboration Toolkit to aid departments in finding mental health organizations to partner with.
To date, 274 agencies have taken the pledge, and five associations have partnered with IACP to bring awareness to this important issue, including Crisis Intervention Team International, the National Marshall and Constables Association, the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. To learn more about the One Mind Campaign, visit the One Mind Campaign webpage, or email onemindcampaign@theiacp.org.