In this special release episode, Just Science sat down with Deputy Chief, recently promoted to Assistant Chief, Catherine Cummings of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, and Jennifer Cianelli, licensed mental health counselor at the Sandra Eskenazi Mental Health Center, to discuss the implementation of the Indianapolis co-response team program, which provides an alternative to traditional police responses. When a community member requires emergency services during a mental health or substance use crisis, they may benefit from a range of additional or alternative services in conjunction with a traditional law enforcement response. To understand the impact of these alternative responses, public safety and treatment practitioners in Indianapolis collaborated with researchers to pilot a co-response mobile crisis assistance team program, where a mental health clinician is partnered with a police officer for response to any behavioral health related emergency calls. Listen along as Assistant Chief Cummings and Ms. Cianelli describe how providing immediate mental health services and follow-up care can benefit community members while also providing support to police on-scene, helpful advice for practitioners who may want to implement co-response teams, and the importance of partnering with researchers to effectively evaluate these types of programs. This episode is funded in part by RTI International’s Justice Practice Area and the Mobile Crisis Assistance Team program supported by Arnold Ventures.  Some content in this podcast may be considered sensitive and may evoke emotional responses or may not be appropriate for younger audiences.

Just Implementing A Co-Response Program In Indianapolis

Just Science is a podcast for justice professionals and anyone interested in learning more about forensic science, innovative technology, current research, and actionable strategies to improve the criminal justice system.  This podcast deals with a range of issues, including human trafficking, firearms, policing, leadership in the crime lab, new technologies, sexual assault response, and broader challenges for science and public security. We cover various types of topics across RTI's Justice Practice Area. 

Some seasons of Just Science were developed by RTI International's Justice Practice Area through various funding sources. Please visit the individual episode to learn more about its funding.