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The budget the St. Paul City Council approved Wednesday includes funding to expand the police department's mental health unit from four officers to seven. This will let the unit take on more cases, and respond to calls during evenings and other off-hours. The unit will be staffed from 7 a.m. until midnight.

The city council allotted more than $270,000 for the coming year. 

While all St. Paul police officers are trained to handle mental health crisis situations, such as a person who needs to go to the hospital or is at risk of suicide, this unit is designed to prevent crises from happening in the first place. The specially trained officers and a social worker help connect the person with services to help deal with their problems, whether it's finding housing resources or connecting them to mental healthcare. 

While more and more police departments are acknowledging their roles in dealing with mental health issues, this unit is unusual in including social workers and acting as intermediaries between the person in need and available resources. 

The unit, which started in the spring, added a second social worker this fall.

Health

Mental Health

Alisa Roth

Author

Less than a year after the St. Paul Police Department debuted a mental health unit, the city council agreed to fund its expansion.

St. Paul City Council funds police mental health unit expansion

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