Headline
A pilot mobile crisis response program in Denver reduced reports of low-level criminal offenses.
Background
There is growing interest in community response models, where a team of health and behavioral health care professionals respond to nonviolent, low-level emergency calls instead of police. The Support Team Assistance Response program (STAR), in Denver, Colorado, was a six-month pilot available in eight of the city’s 36 precincts. A mental health clinician and paramedic were dispatched by 911 operators and responded to 748 incidents related to mental health, homelessness, and/or substance use. This study measures the differences in rates of reported offenses within the pilot service area and outside it.
Findings
The authors used data from December 2019 to November 2020 to compare the number of criminal offenses reported before and after the STAR pilot was implemented. Low-level criminal offenses were coded as STAR-related, such as loitering, possession of an illegal substance, and trespassing. The STAR program reduced reporting of these offenses in the pilot service area by up to 46%, and those offenses increased in the precincts where STAR was not dispatched. Overall, the program reduced targeted, low offense crimes by 34%. It was estimated that 1,376 offenses were prevented because of the program.
Policy/Program Takeaways
Mobile crisis programs like STAR, which serve people experiencing a mental health or substance use disorder crisis, can prevent unnecessary police interactions and reduce reported low-level criminal offenses. This model may be replicable in communities interested in a similar program.