Monterey County’s Response to Community Members Experiencing a Mental Health Crisis

In 2022, there were 662 sworn officers in Monterey County. Those without the 40-hour CIT training, offered twice a year for 35 first responders per session, are unlikely to be as effective at responding to people in crisis, leading to potentially dangerous outcomes for officers and community members. Response: Agree.

The Mapping Project found no formal collaboration exists among the various entities that respond to people with mental health difficulties who are in crisis. A case-by-case response is not a consistent or effective strategy and does not serve the community well. Response: Agree.

SPD and MCSO have not prepared annual training needs and assessments as required by their internal policies. Consequently, their training plans are out of date leaving officer and deputies less equipped/prepared to respond to crisis calls for service and putting themselves and the public at risk. Response: Disagree. As mentioned above, when I took office in January 2023, we conducted a thorough Training Needs Assessment and identified several areas for improvement. These were incorporated into our Annual Training Plan, dated August 2023. It should also be noted that the conclusion made by the CGJ that “since only 35‐40 participants are accepted into the CIT training offered once or twice a year, it is unlikely that all 662 officers have received this training” may be flawed. It would be more accurate if the MCBH course was the only course offered that law enforcement could attend to get this training, but it is not. The current POST Catalog identifies courses in a variety of sessions in 8, 16, 24, 32, 37, and 40‐hour formats offered in Santa Clara, Fresno, San Luis Obispo, and Kern County in addition to online courses that are available to law enforcement personnel, all of which are POST approved and most qualify meet the minimum 2‐hour PSP requirement for Strategic Communications (De‐escalation). DocuSign Envelope ID: D7E052BA-A047-4B75-AC34-17FDC0D845B0

Current standards, policies, practices, operating procedures, and education and training materials are not conspicuously posted on either SPD or MCSO websites causing them to be out of compliance with California Senate Bill 978 and making it more difficult for the public to obtain such information. Response: Agree.