Galesburg City Council on Monday approved a mental health co-responder for the police department and the program looks to start this week.
City Manager Todd Thompson says the city has been working on this program for a while and it’s similar to ones in Northern Illinois.
Thompson says it’s a collaboration that brings in the expertise of Bridgeway and the funding from the 708 Board of Mental Health.
Police Chief Russ Idle says forward-looking police departments subscribe to the tenants of 21st century policing.
21st century policing philosophy came about during the Obama administration in response to high profile police-civilian conflicts like in Ferguson, Missouri.
Idle says one of the things that came out of those studies was that police departments have become a catchall for a number of crises including mental health issues.
Idle says police departments are not trained, equipped, or prepared to handle people in those situations.
The Chief says it’s possible the program will grow..
“So we’re going to bring one in and build our program and get it going and working and at that point we could always have conversations to see if it’s worth expanding,” Idle says. “But this is just a start.”
The co-responder is already been hired and is expected to arrive this week.
