Clinicians will join St. Louis, St. Charles County PDs

New initiative brings clinicians, law enforcement together in St. Louis and St. Charles counties

By Elizabeth Barmeier St. Louis

PUBLISHED 7:00 AM CT Nov. 20, 2024 PUBLISHED 7:00 AM CST Nov. 20, 2024

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Licensed professional counselors will join the St. Louis County and St. Charles County police departments’ Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT) thanks to a $1.5 million state grant.

Officials announced the new initiative Tuesday afternoon at DePaul Hospital in Bridgeton.

The initiative is in partnership with the police departments and the mental health care providers, including BJC HealthCare, Assisted Recovery Centers of America, Compass Health Network and SSM Health.

The grant will fund one additional clinician at Compass Health, two at BJC Behavioral Health and three at SSM Health for two years. The program will be re-evaluated after that.

The counselors will ride along with officers on mental health related calls, offering their expertise in suicide intervention and prevention, substance abuse, behavior analysis and threat assessment.

“When individuals are connected with the right resources, we increase the likelihood of better outcomes and reduce the risk of unnecessary arrests and legal involvement,” said Col. Kenneth Gregory, St. Louis County Police chief.

Counselors also will provide resources to those in need and reduce the number of repeated calls for service.

“We are looking forward to continuing to expand the partnership that BJC Behavioral Health and St. Louis County police have been providing to our community for more than a decade,” said Margo Pigg, director of clinical operations for BJC Behavioral Health.

The goal is to keep those having a mental health crisis out of jail and hospitals.

“This collaboration with a dedicated officer and a behavioral health clinician will ensure a swifter and more robust engagement for ongoing services in keeping folks healthier and in the community versus jail or hospitals,” said Jamie Manning, vice president of Access and Urgent Care Services at Compass Health Network.

The initiative will allow St. Charles County to have a dedicated CIT police officer partner with a licensed professional counselor, according to St. Charles County Police Chief Kurt Frisz.