“Policing is not only about making arrests or writing somebody a citation. It is also about implementing policies and procedures that provide options to get people the help they need in a more empathetic manner.”
So said Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria last week at an event where Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 4736, creating a four-city pilot program pairing social workers and mental health professionals with police while responding to certain situations.
According to Capitol News Illinois, Echevarria brought the idea to state Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, a Peoria Democrat, based on his review of last year’s call data. Those numbers showed 1,247 responses to someone who might be considered suicidal, 978 calls involving someone with a recorded mental illness history and 468 for people with an identified cognitive impairment.
Speaking generally, that log might range from expressed intent to self-harm down to a shoplifting arrest for someone who can’t read. The idea, according to CNI, is to dispatch specific professionals when police identify a potential need for victim assistance. Those extra responders could connect people with social service agencies, give information on protective orders and police reports, work with investigators and give guidance to families of juveniles facing charges.
Joining Peoria in the program are East St. Louis, Springfield and Waukegan. The General Assembly allocated $10 million for the effort in next year’s budget and would have to re-appropriate those funds each year until the program expires in 2029. If the pilot cities report the efforts as successful, expect quick discussions about broader implementation. Perhaps that begins with opt-in approaches or a competitive grant program, maybe by leveraging federal resources, but the most optimistic proponents likely envision an eventual statewide system.
Conceptually, spending money on crime prevention constitutes investment in overburdened police, judicial and prison systems. Practically, demonstrating these efforts as fiscally conservative, or budget neutral, is complex because of all the moving parts. Politically, it’s unlikely to significantly influence voters.
Here’s Pritzker, speaking at the signing:
“We’re launching a victim-centered co-responder pilot program to pair victims and witnesses with social workers who will provide survivors with trauma-informed crisis intervention services, community resources for mental and behavioral health treatment and empathetic advocacy.”
Nice ideas, but not campaign slogans. Pilot program efforts may prevent certain situations from worsening after police arrive, an admirable goal, but HB 4736′s other aspects might more directly address crime, like changes to witness protection, grants to establish tip hotlines and a crime reduction initiative for studying violence prevention efforts.
This isn’t to say lawmakers should enact only easily understandable strategies, but a reminder the work of leveraging government to improve communities often requires patience, trial, error and hope. This program bears watching.
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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