BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Police Department is working to expand its Behavioral Health Team.

Members of the Buffalo Police Oversight Committee held a meeting Wednesday with the main goal of making team resources available 24/7.

Currently, the team is only available Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. The 11-person team is made up of six officers, two lieutenants and three clinicians who respond to help other police officers when needed.

While the team is off during the weekend, the director of the program says members can be called in, however, officers currently rely on Crisis Services instead.

"It's a collaborative work, a lot of these mental professionals including Crisis Services do not want to respond to some of these calls without police. Some of the community thinks we don't need police at all but that's not the case. There are just reasons why even a mental health professional feels safer having police," said Capt. Amber Beyer of the Buffalo Police Department.

Buffalo Councilman Rasheed Wyatt mentioned he would like to see how they can reallocate resources to help programs like this.