As part of the Social Justice Group, the Cambridge Police Department also has two officers and a Clinical Support Unit assigned to mental health outreach. Officers follow-up with identified individuals and offer case management services. The goal of case management is to understand what triggered a possible disturbance and connect the individual to community based supports to reduce the likelihood of crisis in the future. The officers are also responsible for building relationships with service providers and stakeholders throughout the city, which include Vinfen, Riverside, Cambridge BEST Team, Cambridge Health Alliance Affiliated Hospitals, Department of Mental Health, National Alliance on Mental Illness Cambridge-Middlesex Chapter, Cambridge & Somerville Emergency Services Advisory Board, and the Cambridge & Somerville Emergency Services Team. They also provide important training to the department and work very closely with the Recovery Session at the Cambridge District Court.
To supplement this work, the Cambridge Police Department has taken the initiative to provide extensive, certified training for its officers through a regional Crisis Intervention Team Training and Technical Assistance Center (CIT-TTAC). The center is facilitated through a partnership between CPD and NAMI Mass. The 40-hour CIT training program offers technical assistance on effective strategies for best engaging with persons who have mental illness, diverting them from the criminal justice system and into treatment when that is a safe and appropriate option. Presently, nearly one third of the officers within the Cambridge Police Department have received CIT training (every officer in the Community Relations Unit has completed this training) and the goal is to train the entire department on this training.
To contact our Officers, or for more information on our Mental Health Outreach, please call our Family and Social Justice Section at 617-349-3236.