YES! YES! YES!

[JaneV2.0]

My observation--at least during the day--is that the vast majority of police calls around here are mental health, substance abuse, and "unwanted person" related. There's not much need for fully armed, flash-bang cowboys to address this type of call.

[happystuff]

Happystuff, I believe you would call your county sheriff as they serve the areas outside of municipal police service. Although depending on how funding us handled, they may not come.

or if you know any of those second amendment guys - you could call them.

Okay. I have his phone number, but with 1 sheriff for the entire county, I guess I shouldn't hold my breath waiting for a response.

Side note: In my mind, sheriff = police. Not really sure what the difference would be or if I would care at a time I'm calling for help.

[iris lilies]

As Terry noted, a Co-Responder Program creates a response team consisting of a law enforcement officer and (riding along on the call) a behavioral health specialist. On certain calls, for example a suspected drug overdose, the tactics are intended to de-escalate the situation and to avoid the use of force to subdue the individual. Based on the judgement of the behavioral health specialist, the individual may be referred to immediate behavioral health assessment rather than arrest.

The link is to the State of Colorado Co-Responder Program. In Colorado it is funded by taxes on the sale of marijuana. (Incidentally, a city may participate in the Co-Responder Program, without permitting the sale of cannabis.)

http://colorado.gov/pacific/cdhs/co-responder-programs

so, two butts in the seat of a police car rather than one. Will the social workers/behavioral specialists join the police union? That seems lucrative for them. Now that sounds No cheaper than a current system but OK whatever.

I still like our community policing situation in my little neighborhood village where our neighborhood cop often rode around on a bicycle, sometimes on a a scooter, seldom in a police car. He was still buff and armed though for those situations that needed that approach. He retired from the force and he was not replaced in the same way, and our cop force has been decimated anyway so they probably don’t have anyone to do that kind of thing.

But hey the behavioral specialist/social workers will be wonderful for the 2% of the situations where absolutely no violence to anyone besides the perp is threatened. As for the other 98% of the time well – yeah. Good luck with that.

Here in St. Louis we are living some aspects of The Dream of no police because our city prosecutor doesn’t bother to prosecute anyone. We skipped right over the step of disbanding the police department to go right to exercising the powers of the prosecutor who simply does not exercise her powers. And yeah, people like me are getting out of here.

[iris lilies]

Calling 2A guys. Ridiculous. Why reasonable citizens with guns to protect themselves, their family and their home would drive over to Carry out traditional police activity is beyond me. They wouldn’t.

[Teacher Terry]

Here we have some crisis teams with the social worker employed by the county and police by the city. Both have unions. More situations require de-escalating then police. You don’t need police to work with the homeless, most MI people aren’t violent. We spend a ton of money waking up the homeless at 4am to avoid social services from helping and telling them to leave. Then they throw away their possessions. If SS do manage to arrive or the media police often threaten them and tell them to leave. SS would try to hook them up to services which is a much better use of tax dollars.

[iris lilies]

Okay. I have his phone number, but with 1 sheriff for the entire county, I guess I shouldn't hold my breath waiting for a response.

Side note: In my mind, sheriff = police. Not really sure what the difference would be or if I would care at a time I'm calling for help.

Are you people MENTAL!!!??? Any county sheriff policing agency will not simply step in to take up the slack of no city police. Preposterous.

[iris lilies]

Here we have some crisis teams with the social worker employed by the county and police by the city. Both have unions. More situations require de-escalating then police. You don’t need police to work with the homeless, most MI people aren’t violent. We spend a ton of money waking up the homeless at 4am to avoid social services from helping and telling them to leave. Then they throw away their possessions. If SS do manage to arrive or the media police often threaten them and tell them to leave. SS would try to hook them up to services which is a much better use of tax dollars.

Sigh. Of course we too have mental health/ behaviorists on call to work with police. As for who wakes up the homeless to move them along, why does it matter? If it is as you say that they are not usually violent, why assume the cops always take a violent approach? Or do not know how to de escalate? That these Are the soecial, unique skills if social workers? And you think cops are not versed in “ trying to hook them up to services?”

of course they are.

[happystuff]

Are you people MENTAL!!!??? Any county sheriff policing agency will not simply step in to take up the slack of no city police. Preposterous.

LOL. Not mental. Just trying to get an answer to my original question. If the police force is disbanded, who would I call? The only answer I received was the county sheriff. I agree a county sheriff could not take up the slack of no police.

[iris lilies]

LOL. Not mental. Just trying to get an answer to my original question. If the police force is disbanded, who would I call? The only answer I received was the county sheriff. I agree a county sheriff could not take up the slack of no police.

Thanks for letting me use that Britishism “mental.” I find it hilarious!

[iris lilies]

If they mean what they say, and this isn’t some superficial rebranding, why would anyone with something to lose stay in town? And if we see a flight from the city, where will the tax base come from for all that promised “investment in the community”? Haven’t we seen this before?

I never thought Minneapolis would become Detroit. Or even St. Louis. Twin Cities are great. RIP Twin Cities.