Beginning in December a new collaborative effort between police departments in Falls and Middletown townships, in conjunction with Bucks County, will bring a specially trained social worker to police calls involving mental health issues and domestic disputes.
The two-year program is fully funded through a grant from Bucks County, according to Falls Police Chief Nelson Whitney.
Each of the police departments will have a human services co-responder in-house who will follow up on calls for service involving mental health components or domestic violence, Whitney said.
“We’ll have our officers available to respond with them when it’s appropriate,” Whitney said. “I read a shift summary at the end of every shift that we have. Almost every day we have one, if not multiple contacts involving mental health. It really has spiked since COVID. This is an issue nationwide that needs resources.”
According to Falls Police records, police received 239 mental health calls for service in 2019; 245 in 2020; and 249 so far in 2021. Domestic dispute calls rose from 627 in 2019 to 683 in 2020. So far this year, Falls police have responded to 577 domestic violence calls.
The Falls Township Board of Supervisors, during Monday’s meeting, unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding with Bucks County to allow the program to move forward.
“This should be a good program,” Supervisors Chairman Jeff Dence said. “This will take a lot of stress off your police force as well.”
A similar effort began in Bensalem about a year ago, Whitney said.
The only cost for the program is to provide co-responders with a vehicle they use while working, Whitney said.
Initially, Whitney envisions the co-responder program functioning like a referral service with the social worker receiving a list of individuals and families that the police regularly have contact with. From there, he said the social worker would maintain contact and ensure the individuals are receiving the assistance needed long term.
“There’s definitely a need for it in our community,” he said. “I’m sure every community can use this kind of program.”
