Heavy snow and difficult travel expected again, heaviest snow in southern Minnesota

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

The details of each story are different, but the endings are all the same. Since 2015, police have killed more than 1,400 people who were in the midst of mental health crises. That’s almost 

The seeming intractability of the problem has led some cities — such as

 — to experiment with a different approach to 911 calls that involve people in a mental health crisis. 

Instead of dispatching police, they are sending in teams of social workers. So far, 

Thursday, MPR News host Kerri Miller spoke with a researcher who studies mental illness in the criminal justice system, and a former police officer who believes better training for police is part of the solution.

To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above.

Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on: 

Health

Mental Health

Shows

Big Books & Bold Ideas with Kerri Miller

Host

Author

Since 2015, more than 1,400 people with mental illness have been killed by police — nearly a quarter of all fatal police shootings. That’s led some cities to dispatch mental health professionals to respond to some 911 calls instead of police. Does this new approach reduce the violence? 

Would dispatching social workers instead of cops save lives?

Go Deeper.

Like this?