AUSTIN, Texas -- Peace officers in Central Texas are receiving training in how to handle mental health issues in the field. The hope is the training will keep people out of jail in some situations.

Without specific training, it’s difficult for peace officers to navigate situations in which someone is experiencing a psychiatric crisis.

“What you’re seeing here today are role-plays in which they are running into issues that they may run into in the community,” said Marisa Aguilar with the Integral Care Mobile Outreach Team, which is made up of mental health professional who help adults and children going through a mental health crisis.

The 40 hours of training includes lessons on how to identify people struggling with mental health. 

“A lot of times people commit crimes when they’re in a mental health crisis and they have no idea that they are committing a crime,” said Kristen Dark, Travis County Sheriff’s Office senior public information officer.

Among the biggest components of the training is communication. 

“Specifically, verbal de-escalation – ways to build rapport and engage with individuals in the community that are experiencing the psychiatric crisis,” Aguilar said.

The training provides officers with the tools to respond differently in different scenarios.

“And decide whether or not something needs to be dealt [with] by an emergency detention, or perhaps by outpatient care,” Dark said. 

“Jail is the wrong place for mental health illness to be treated. It’s the most expensive place for it to happen. And people in a jail setting do not progress, they regress,” Dark continued.

Officers receive a certification at the end of the 40-hour training course.