A police department has unveiled its plans to let social workers respond to non-violent reports instead of police officers.
Amid police reform plans, the City of St. Petersburg in Florida has announced the opening of a new division, called the Community Assistance Liaison, that will be operated by social service professionals under the authority of the police department.
The decision to take a new approach when it comes to responding to non-violent 911 calls was announced by Police Chief Anthony Holloway and Mayor Rick Kriseman.
Starting October 1, therefore, social workers working for the Community Assistance Liaison will respond to non-violent complaints involving: disorderly intoxication, intoxicated person, mental health crisis, suicide crisis, mental health transport, disorderly juvenile / truancy, disorderly juvenile at elementary schools, drug overdose, homeless complaints, panhandling, and neighborhood disputes.point 482 | 1
“Today we’re here to talk about change. And change is coming to the St. Pete Police Department,” the police chief said during a press conference on Thursday.
As a part of the police reform in the city, Holloway also confirmed that a civil rights group member or a civilian would be added to the police department’s hiring board.
The police will allegedly also review how complaints are being processed and look into ways of improving the Use of Force policy.
“Believe it or not, we still get some calls about, ‘There’s an African American male sitting in the park. He doesn’t look like us.’ We’re not coming to those calls. If that person hasn’t committed a crime, we’re not going there,” Holloway said.
Defending the police reform was also union president Jonathan Vasquez who said:
“We believe this will reduce strain in police resources, reduce risks to our member officers, and better outcomes for our most vulnerable citizens that we serve.”
According to the reports, the Community Assistance Liaison division will employ some 18 to 20 professionals who will be unarmed and in plainclothes.
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Replaced!