Clemson Univ. Police creating specially-trained teams to respond to mental health calls
Clemson SC May 31, 2023 The Clemson University Police Department (CUPD) has received a $549,991 grant through the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) FY22 Connect and Protect: Law Enforcement Behavioral Response Program. The funding will be used to hire two mental health clinicians this fall. They will work alongside police officers during mental health calls.
“They will actually be in a car with the police officer,” CUPD Chief Greg Mullen said. “Our dispatch center will know that that team is available. If a call comes in for some type of mental health crisis, that unit will be dispatched to handle this call immediately.”
If CUPD receives a call involving mental health, emotional crisis or co-occurring disorders, a specially-trained mental health response police officer and clinician will both respond. The clinician will then evaluate the person and determine if they need to be treated or connected with resources.
“Sometimes, if you wait days or weeks to start that intervention, then bad things can happen,” Mullen said. “By allowing us to have that clinician working directly with us, we’re going to be able to start that intervention immediately.”
CUPD hopes this strategy will keep people out of jail and out of the hospital if they do not need to be there.
“Sometimes the emergency room or a jail setting is not always the right place for those individuals,” Capt. Christopher Harrington said. “We think this is really going to enhance the opportunity to provide the best services and get them the best support possible.”
The clinicians can also assist in calls with the Clemson City Police Department as well as law enforcement agencies in Anderson, Pickens and Oconee County.
But Mullen said this program will make a difference on campus, specifically when CUPD receives calls for wellbeing checks or calls from Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).
“For us to have this type of model on campus is really going to allow us to provide a service to our students, staff and faculty that has been missing, and it’s going to give them another layer of support that will help them be successful in their journey here at Clemson,” Mullen said.
Research from the Mayo Clinic Health System found up to 44 percent of college students reported having symptoms of depression and anxiety in 2022.
“If you look at the data, it’ll show you that the age group of 18 to 25 is in a really high crisis demand in terms of mental health response,” Mullen said.
Mullen said Clemson University researchers will analyze CUPD’s new program. The data that is collected can then be used to inform the law enforcement community and encourage them to implement the program within their own agencies.
