The Ada County Sheriff’s Office was the first law enforcement agency in Idaho to have Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) of sworn deputies who respond to calls for service for people who suffer from mental illness and to coordinate available resources within the community to assist them.
Our CIT deputies are joined by a licensed clinical social worker, who goes out on calls with them. We created the CIT unit in 2016.
The team handles suicidal subject and mental health-related calls, which require specialized training and extensive follow-up. Having our CIT deputies available to help people in crisis frees up our regular patrol deputies to respond to other calls.
Our CIT teams collaborate with other agencies and coordinate resources to facilitate the direct placement of people they interact with to appropriate mental health facilities, avoiding costly emergency room visits or putting people in jail when they really need treatment.
We also recognize the need basic CIT training for all employees who answer calls for help from people in crisis. Since 2016 we’ve had about 100 of our deputies, dispatchers, and other employees complete the 40-hour C.I.T. certification course.
