Note: links to the White Bird Clinic have been occasionally broken, probably due to coronavirus staffing issues.
There has been much discussion in the news about defunding local law enforcement. The opinions span the spectrum from those who on one extreme say we shouldn’t defund law enforcement at all, to those on the other extreme who want to completely defund it with only nebulous alternatives they can’t define. Some in the middle say we should defund the militarism, eliminating the tanks and battle equipment donated to local law enforcement. Some say other organizations can handle certain situations in which law enforcement isn’t particularly proficient.
What we have now is not working to solve some of the critical problems we’re facing.
Law enforcement’s protective tribal culture is better at escalation than de-escalation.
Most would agree that the tribal nature of law enforcement makes them better at escalation than de-escalation or we would not be seeing the level of police brutality that we see today.
When Officer Chauvin held his knee on George Floyd’s neck for over 8 minutes, he knew he was being recorded. That didn’t phase him at all. He did not think that he would suffer any consequences for his actions. He nonchalantly had his hand in his pocket looking directly at the camera, as three other cops stood by watching him, also nonchalantly.
It was business as usual to them. However, changing the culture of law enforcement is an entirely different topic and will be debated for years or decades.
There is one compelling argument for partially defunding that will take some of the burdens off of law enforcement, while also increasing the benefit to citizens who fall through the cracks:
Don’t make law enforcement perform services they’re not adept at dealing with.
Law enforcement is not adept at dealing with the homeless, the mentally ill, and those addicted to drugs.
For some reason, we’ve criminalized homelessness, mental illness, and drug addiction. In every one of these conditions, it is a medical issue or a stituational issue, not a criminal issue. Sure, sometimes people fall into criminality that needs to be addressed by law enforcement, but in many cases, the victim is suffering a personal crisis that may be temporary, and with a proper approach can be de-escalated without further incident.
Frequently, when law enforcement gets involved with these crises the victim inappropriately ends up in the criminal system. And once in the criminal system, they’re stuck — a revolving door of being released on own recognizance, not having transportation to their hearing, a warrant issued, arrested again and put in jail and held until their hearing, then released on time served. Meanwhile, they’ve lost the worldly belongings they’ve accumulated in their shopping cart.
Decades ago, the Eugene Police Department and an “anarchistic bunch of hippies” started trusting each other.
In October 2019, CBS News did a story on a highly successful mobile mental health crisis intervention team in Eugene, Oregon called CAHOOTS, an acronym for Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets. The organization had its roots in a “hippie” social activist organization called The White Bird Clinic which was established in 1969. True to the times, it was not all that friendly with law enforcement.
According to an article in the Eugene Register-Guard, “a ragtag collective of like-minded activists, medics and social workers founded the White Bird Clinic”.
Twenty years later, law enforcement and the “ragtag collective” very cautiously started testing each other and fortunately saw how they might be able to work together. The police started CAHOOTS and engaged the White Bird Clinic to be the implementation arm.
“We were a bunch of hippies, and actually a fairly anarchistic bunch of hippies,” said David Zeiss, a co-founder of CAHOOTS. “It was really an interesting question, whether we could forge a working relationship with Eugene Police Department.”
Decades later, the CAHOOTS program is thriving and is becoming a model program that other cities are starting to follow.
CAHOOTS had some initial funding by the Eugene Police Department, which disbursed the appropriate funds to the White Bird Clinic to provide the actual services. Today, CAHOOTS is a homogenous organization run by EPD and staffed and executed by White Bird Clinic. As of 2015, CAHOOTS expanded to Springfield, Oregon as well with funding from Lake County.
Today, 20% of all 911 calls in Eugene are handled by CAHOOTS, and police officers are not deployed.
How does it work? When a 911 call comes in and it involves the homeless, public drug use, a mental episode, a suicide threat, etc. and there appears to be no imminent threat to anyone else’s safety, the police are not dispatched. Instead, a two-person team comprised of an EMT and a Mental Health Crisis Manager are dispatched.
- Any immediate life-threatening medical issues are addressed by the EMT.
- Once it is determined that the subject is not in a life-threatening condition, the next objective is to de-escalate the situation, a task for which a Crisis Manager has far better training and skills than a police officer has.
- If de-escalation isn’t successful and if deemed necessary, the team asks for law enforcement to be dispatched for support.
- Next, the EMT provides any additional medical attention and determines if further medical treatment is necessary. If so the subject is taken to the hospital.
- The Crisis Manager works with the subject and determines what additional public services would be benefical.
20% of Eugene’s 911 calls don't require police officers to be dispatched. It is surprising to most that the number is so high. The wildly successful program is being examined by many Police Departments around the country.
Leadership from nearly 20 cities — including Austin, Chicago, Oakland, Denver, New York City and Portland — has reached out to learn more about Eugene’s unique partnership.
— Eugene Register-Guard, October 2019
Cost savings, risk reduction, and societal benefit for all — Lives Saved!
Just imagine the cost savings, risk reduction for citizens and officers, the overall societal benefit for all Americans, and the lives that will be saved if we extrapolate that 20% reduction all over the country!
Only 20 cities? Why this isn’t being done by every major city in the United States — is a question every American citizen should be asking. I imagine some law enforcement agencies would be reluctant to give up portions of their budgets or would want their budgets to be increased to run a “new” program. This makes to much sense not to implement arcross all America.