During a recent mental health froum hosted by Prairie Communications, members of the Monmouth Police Department outlined challenges the Department is facing in terms of mental health.
Lieutenant Joe Bratcher says mental health training among MPD officers and starting the process of hospitalizing an individual are two of the challenges the department faces. Another challenge is recognizing the resources available to help identify people who are going through a mental health crisis.
Monmouth Police Chief Joe Switzer had this to say about the mental health challenges:
“When we come into contact with a person who’s in a mental health crisis or needs some sort of help, oftentimes we try to initiate them into that help. Then we see them again two or three hours later, and we’re dealing with the same exact thing we were dealing with before.”
According to Chief Switzer, law enforcement are typically the first to respond to a mental health crisis.
