MILLERSVILLE, Md. — A classroom teacher by trade, years after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, Melissa Owens suffered from manic episodes.
“My behaviors were everywhere from like hallucinations, delusions, paranoia,” said Owens, “You know and that was a pretty tough two months, but luckily CIT were the response team that came. Just because she’s shoplifting at the corner store, we’re not going to arrest her."
CIT or the Crisis Intervention Team with the Anne Arundel County Police Department is trained to work hand in hand with health professionals to address what’s driving the distressed to act out rather than simply incarcerating them.
“If you lock someone up, you’re not dealing or addressing with what’s causing the behavior,” said Lt. Steve Thomas, “So when someone is in crisis when we actually look and say, ‘Okay, what is causing this crisis? Are they having a trauma response to previous trauma in their life? Is it an addiction issue?’ and we address what’s causing it, it can stop.”
The Crisis Intervention Team has less than a dozen members, but more than a quarter of the entire police department has received CIT training.”
How great is the need?
In an average month, the team will field 35 hundred calls for people in crisis.
Now, that team is being recognized by a group called CIT International with its much-coveted Platinum Certification—-the first such honor for a regional program and the first certification of any type in Maryland.
It represents a concerted effort to help people who need it the most address their problem and avoid going to prison.
“I may have lost my home, my house and my medical care,” said Owens, “So instead, they swoop in and take care of me. Take me to the hospital. Meet me at the hospital before I’m discharged to help show me they have a plan for me, that they’re going to look after me.”
