FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Ann Arnall, Lee County Human Services
              (239) 652-7920

CRISIS INTERVENTION TEAMS (CIT) TO BEGIN IN LEE COUNTY

FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 20, 2004) - Local public safety, mental health and human service agenices will be hosting two of the foremost experts on Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) at a community presentation Wednesday, Nov. 10 at Edison Community College.

Crisis Intervention Teams are specially trained law enforcement units who respond to calls involving a person with mental illness.

In order to gain a better understanding of how the CIT should operate, our community will benefit from the expert knowledge of Major Sam Cochran and Dr. Randolph Dupont, who were both instrumental in establishing the CIT program in Memphis, Tennessee in 1987.

The presentation will be Nov. 10 from 9 a.m. to noon in Building S, rooms 106 and 107, at Edison Community College (park in Lot 6, on west side of the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall).

All interested individuals are encouraged to attend this meeting. Please contact Ann Arnall at 652-7920 if you plan to attend or for more information.

BACKGROUND:

In January, planning efforts began to implement Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) for law enforcement officers in Lee County. At this time, the City of Fort Myers Police Department and the Lee County Sheriff's Office are committed to selecting a group of officers to receive Crisis Intervention training and respond to calls which involve a person with a mental illness.

Crisis Intervention Teams are made up of uniform patrol officers who volunteer and are selected for training. The training teaches officers about mental illnesses, the local service delivery system, and effective ways to deescalate someone who is experiencing a crisis due to a mental illness. Crisis Intervention Teams are proven to promote better public safety by reducing injuries to both law enforcement officers and citizens when responding to calls involving a person with a mental illness. Additionally such programs focus on the person receiving treatment rather than entering the criminal justice system, which reduces the number of inappropriate arrests.

A steering committee made up of local stakeholders, including Lee County Commissioner Bob Janes, Circuit Judge Hugh Starnes, and representatives from the State Attorney's office, Public Defender's office, Lee County Sheriff's Office, City of Fort Myers Police Department, Sanibel Police Department, Cape Coral Police Department, National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) Lee County, The Ruth Cooper Center for Behavioral Health Care, Department of Children and Families Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health Program Office, Lee County Department of Human Services, persons with a mental illness, and other interested community representatives assisted in the development of a grant application which was submitted to the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities in Tallahassee.

The Ruth Cooper Center for Behavioral Health Care applied for the grant and received a $6,000 award to assist in the implementation of a CIT program in Lee County.