110 EAST COOK STREET ● SANTA MARIA, CA 93454-5190 ● (805) 925-0951 ● FAX (805) 349-0657 ● www.cityofsantamaria.org
Attachment B
CITY OF SANTA MARIA
OFFICE OF THE MAYOR
AND CITY COUNCIL
Mayor, Ext. 2204
City Council, Ext. 2205
[email protected]
August 20, 2024
Presiding Judge Pauline Maxwell
1100 Anacapa Street
P.O. Box 21107
Santa Barbara, CA 93121-1107
SUBJECT: Responses to 2023-24 Grand Jury Report
Individuals In Crisis
Dated June 18, 2024
Dear Honorable Judge Maxwell:
The City of Santa Maria is pleased to provide the following requested responses to the above-referenced report for Finding 1 and Recommendations 1 within 90 days of the report issuance. Please note the following responses:
FINDING 1
The Jury finds that full implementation of the 5150 holds by trained law enforcement officers would be beneficial to all citizens of Santa Barbara County.
Response: Disagree partially with an explanation.
The Santa Maria Police Department partially disagrees with this finding. The Santa Maria Police Department ’s current practice utilizes the specialized skills of a mental health professional coupled with that of a CIT -trained law enforcement officer, ensuring improved outcomes for people experiencing a mental health crisis. We are open to continually evaluating our current process and believe our community can be better served in the future if we are able to increase the number of co-response teams serving the City of Santa Maria. Currently, the Santa Maria Police Department partners with Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness with an established co- response team partnership. This team consists of a trained ment al health professional from Behavioral Wellness and a CIT-trained police officer. Their expertise is essential for accurately assessing and managing individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. The co-response team is co- located at the Santa Maria Police Department and responds to calls for service involving people experiencing a mental health crisis. When not responding to active calls for service the team follows up with people who had previously experienced a mental health crisis, ensuring appropriat e services and resources are provided. If the department’s co- response team is unavailable, a Mobile Crisis team member from Santa Barbara County responds to assess the situation. This approach ensures that individuals in crisis Attachment B receive the most appropriate and effective care available whether from a Mobile Crisis team member or the department’s co- response team.
Recommendation 1
The Jury recommends that all County and City law enforcement agencies be fully trained in crisis intervention, thus enabling their timely issuance of 5150 holds when appropriate..
Response: Will not be implemented with an explanation of why.
The Santa Maria Police Department must respectfully disagree with this recommendation and clarify that we do not plan to implement it. We believe the current practice of involving mental health professionals, who have extensive training and experience in dealing with mental health crises, is the best approach. Even with additional training for law enforcement officers, it would be extremely difficult for them to replace the specialized skills of a trained mental health professional who regularly provides ass essments and intervention plans to individuals in crisis. Additionally, training all City law enforcement officers in crisis intervention would require significant resources, including time and funding, which could be more effectively utilized by enhancing and expanding the existing Mobile Crisis units or co -response teams. We understand and appreciate the recommendation of the Grand Jury and will explore the possibility of training a small number of officers to attend the 40-hour CIT and 5150 hold training, which could provide for a broader range of coverage across the various patrols shifts to evaluate 5150 holds in the absence of a trained mental health professional.
ALICE M. PATINO
Mayor