Crisis Intervention Team Training

Members of the Iron County Sheriff’s Office and the Iron County Circuit Clerk attended the annual Crisis Intervention Team Banquet this past Monday evening. Several awards were given out along with updates on the program.  Two years ago we decided to become a part of the Mineral Area Crisis Team and, at the present time, the majority of the Sheriff’s Office staff has attend the 40 hour course. By the end of October, the entire Office will have completed the course. What is CIT? Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) is an innovative first-responder model of police-based crisis intervention with community, health care, consumer, and advocacy partnerships. The CIT Model was first developed in Memphis and has spread throughout the country. The basic program consists of 40 hours training followed by an annual update.

CIT provides law enforcement-based crisis intervention training for assisting those individuals with a mental illness, and improves the safety of patrol officers, consumers, family members, and citizens within the community. CIT is a program that provides the foundation necessary to promote community and statewide solutions to assist individuals with a mental illness. The CIT Model reduces both stigma and the need for further involvement with the criminal justice system. CIT provides a forum for effective problem solving regarding the interaction between the criminal justice and mental health care system and creates the context for sustainable change.

Basic Goals:

1. Improve Officer, Consumer and Community Safety
2. Redirect Individuals with Mental Illness from the Judicial System to the Health Care System

    Partnerships: Law Enforcement, Advocacy, Mental Health

1. Central to the formation and success of CIT is the role of the Law Enforcement Community. Trained CIT Officers are able to interact with crisis situations using de-escalation techniques that improve the safety of the officer, consumer, and family members. In addition, the law enforcement community is able to provide care and help to consumers by transporting individuals in need of special treatment to appropriate facilities. It is also critical that law enforcement participate in the formation of CIT and engage in all elements of the planning and implementation stages.
2. Participation from the Consumer and Advocate Community is critical to the success of CIT. This aspect of CIT brings the program to life by adding insight from those directly affected. This important partnership should be established early in the planning process and should continue as an ongoing operational element of CIT.
3. Mental Health Professionals plays an important role in the successful implementation, development, and ongoing sustainability of CIT. These professionals provide treatment, education and training that result in a wide dissemination of knowledge and expertise to both individuals with a mental illness and patrol officers undergoing CIT training.

The Mental Health Crisis Response Institute use trained CIT law enforcement trainers to conduct CIT trainings.  Daily practical exercises with professional actors are used in the CIT training for realistic experiences to build de-escalation skills. 

This One Of A Kind Unique Quilt Could Be Yours

For information how to win this one of a kind quilt.

https://go.rallyup.com/quilt-raffle

You could win this handmade quilt featuring patches from sheriffs’ offices in Missouri’s 114 counties. Tickets are just $10 each – and everyone can buy them. In fact, buy several to increase your chance of winning!

Proceeds from the raffle, sponsored by the Missouri Sheriffs’ Association Wives’ Auxiliary, will be used to purchase bulletproof vests for sheriffs and deputies whose offices can’t afford to buy them.

The drawing for the quilt will be held October 8. The winner will be notified by phone.

A special thanks goes to Dianna Stockman, the wife of Mercer County Sheriff Stephen Stockman, and her sister, Sarah Bonnett, who created this beautiful, one-of-a-kind work of art.

The Farm Bureau annual fish fry was held on Saturday, September 24th at the fairgrounds with a very good gathering.   

IS YOUR LIFE WORTH 3 SECONDS OF YOUR TIME

Six out of 10 people killed in Missouri traffic crashes are unbuckled. Even with all of the advancements in automobile safety and education on the importance of seat belt use, Missouri’s seat belt use has remained relatively unchanged in the last six years and consistently below the national average. Missouri has an 80 percent seat belt use, which is well below the national average of 87 percent.