Tom Westphal, Deputy Director, Office of Administration, Policy, & Intergovernmental Relations
Kailyn Kenney, Assistant to the City Manager, Office
of Administration, Policy, & Intergovernmental Relations Raania Mohsen, Assistant to the City Manager, Office of Racial and Social Equity
City of San José
Public Safety, Finance, and
Strategic Support Committee
October 17, 2024
Options for
Expanding
Alternative &
Co-Response
Programs to
911 Calls for
Service
Efficient Use of City Resources
Better Services for City
Residents
Responder
911
Community Need
How do we
match community
needs with
the right
resources?
Background: Calls for Service
2 Alternative Response:
Civilian personnel with specialized skills (for example, mental health clinicians) respond to incidents without a police officer being present.
Co-Response:
Specialized civilian personnel respond to incidents along with police officers – either simultaneously or after
officers secure the incident site.
Alt. Response
TRUST
IHOT
MRSS
Co-Response
MCRT PERT
DV-HRRT
Background: Types of Response &
Current Local Programs
3 Existing City and County Programs
Transfer $450,000 to the County of Santa Clara to fund an additional 40 hours of TRUST coverage for a one-year period; explore whether opioid settlement funding could be used to fund Alternative Response programs
Partner with County of Santa Clara to identify opportunities for expanded Alternative Response and 911-to-988 call diversion
FY 2024-2025
Budget
Direction
Explore Co-Response models for Domestic Violence calls for service Explore Alternative Response models for select calls for service involving individuals with mental health issues and/or unhoused individuals
Explore Co-Response and Alternative Response models for individuals with disabilities
Feb. 2024 City Council
Direction
Background: Council Direction
4 • Voluntary Disclosure Programs – Blue Envelope Program • Designation of Disability Affairs Coordinator within SJPD • Funding appropriation for MCAT, TRUST to increase specialized resources Other Policy Options for Consideration
#1 Disability community – call for prioritization and expanded funding of Alternative response over Co-response programs
#2 Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) compares or exceeds other CITs across the nation; rooted in community partnership; City could continuously evaluate for alignment with community need and City’s Disability Inclusion Equity Pledge. #3 Co-response program PERT pairs a SJPD officer with a County clinician; the program could be expanded by partnering with the County to hire additional clinicians.
Findings
Alternative & Co-Response: Disability
5 Question: Prior to taking this survey, were you aware that you can dial 988 to connect to trained counselors and support for a mental health crisis, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse? #4 Ongoing City-County collaboration to
identify opportunities to expand its current
911-to-988 call transfer pilot program.
#5 Completed Memorandum of Agreement
with the County to effectuate City Council’s
allocation of $450,000 to fund a one-year
TRUST pilot expansion; monitoring
implementation.
#6 Opioid settlement funds are not suitable
for existing alternative response programs.
#7 City identifying and leveraging
opportunities to educate residents on
services available through County's 988 Call
Center through existing City programs.
Findings
Alternative Response
6 Dispatch Criteria
Crisis Response
Co-Response Team Staffing
#8 Other jurisdictions have
co-response teams dedicated to
providing in-person responses to
domestic violence incidents. The
City could explore creating a new
program to augment the existing
response model.
#9 San José Police Department
partners with YWCA on the
Domestic Violence High Risk
Response Team program.
In-person co-responses are
limited, and the program could be
adjusted to increase them.
Findings
Co-Response: Domestic Violence
7 Presenters:
Tom Westphal, Deputy Director, Office of Administration, Policy, & Intergovernmental Relations
Kailyn Kenney, Assistant to the City Manager,
Office of Administration, Policy, & Intergovernmental Relations Raania Mohsen, Assistant to the City Manager, Office of Racial and Social Equity
Options for Expanding Alternate & CoResponse Programs to 911 Calls for Service
✓ Accept Staff Report
✓ Refer and cross-reference the
Report to City Council on January
14, 2025
Recommendations
for Committee
Action
Public Safety, Finance, and Stategic
Support Committee: 10.17.24