During psychiatric emergencies in Alameda County mental health providers are forced to contact local police or sheriff departments to request involuntary holds for both adults and youth (5150​/5585) who are a danger to themselves/others or gravely disabled. Law enforcement involvement in these situations is traumatizing, chaotic, a poor use of community resources (frequently multiple squad cars are dispatched), and undermining to mental health providers who are trained to effectively navigate psychiatric emergencies in a trauma-informed and client-centered manner. 

For example, Oakland Police receive 40 hours of Crisis Intervention Training and are given authority during psychiatric emergencies, while mental health providers are required to complete two to five years of graduate school, obtain 3,000 hours of supervised work experience, pass multiple exams, and regularly engage in continuing education to obtain and maintain professional licenses. It is our belief that licensed and trained mental health providers are better equipped to respond to psychiatric emergencies in order to reduce traumatic police interactions and improve access to appropriate mental health care and resources.

California Code, Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC § 5151 states the following: 

“When a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, a peace officer, professional person in charge of a facility designated by the county for evaluation and treatment, member of the attending staff, as defined by regulation, of a facility designated by the county for evaluation and treatment, designated members of a mobile crisis team, or professional person designated by the county may, upon probable cause, take, or cause to be taken, the person into custody for a period of up to 72 hours for assessment, evaluation, and crisis intervention, or placement for evaluation and treatment in a facility designated by the county for evaluation and treatment and approved by the State Department of Health Care Services.” 

In light of both recent and historic events of police violence, which disproportionately impact black and brown communities, we are calling for an immediate move to reduce law enforcement involvement in psychiatric emergency situations in Alameda County. We are writing to demand that Alameda County immediately begin the practice of training and certifying licensed mental health providers to write 5150/5585 psychiatric holds, which is a common practice in many other California counties (including Los Angeles, the most populous county in California). 

Further, we demand that funding for local police and sheriff departments is reallocated to provide the aforementioned training and oversight for licensed mental health practitioners. Given that mental health practitioners already have extensive training, including in crisis management, and that many other counties in California have detailed training and certification programs to allow mental health practitioners to write 5150/5585 orders, we believe that this transition would have a minimal lift for the county as compared to the benefits for residents; specifically, in reducing traumatic and at times deadly interactions with law enforcement for black and brown community members.