The Cook County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Office is using Zoom to put mental health clinicians in the field as part of 911 response to person in crisis calls.
The sheriff's office launched the Co-Responder Virtual Assistance Program, or CVAP, in late 2020. It lets officers patch-in clinicians via tablets to talk directly with those in crisis at the scene without putting the counselors in danger, CBS reports.
Elli Montgomery, executive director of the Cook County SO’s Treatment Response Team, recounted the first co-responder case, which she considered a success.
"An officer that was very hesitant to work with us and not interested in doing this, but had tried everything to de-escalate an individual who was off their medication, is a boxer, suffering from bipolar disorder," she described. "He had used some substances. He was not stable."
A sergeant on scene gave the man a tablet. Body camera video from the officers on scene shows the man sitting in a chair as Montgomery listened to and spoke with him. He was able to discuss what happened and Montgomery eventually convinced him to walk to the ambulance. The officers no longer needed to force him to get help.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said CVAP brings officers unlimited access to counselors in complex situations, where police are not the experts.
