Crisis Intervention & De-escalation Training

Specialized police curriculum that aims to reduce the risk of serious injury or death during an emergency interaction between persons with mental illness and police officers. Crisis Intervention Teams have come about as a result of the lack of mental health crisis services. Due to this lack of services, police officers often serve as the first to respond to an individual in mental health crisis .. CIT also increases safety for those in crisis, officers, and the community. Some research has also found that CIT-trained officers are less likely to endorse the use of force. CIT training includes; Crisis Negotiation Skills, Implicit Bias training, Crisis Negotiation Skills and De-escalation training.

This trianing is a skills-based training course that teaches participants about mental health and substance-use issues. The curriculum recognizes the symptoms of common mental illnesses and substance use disorders; de-escalating crisis situations safely, and initiating timely referrals to resources available in the community. Mental Health First Aid is listed in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices.

ICAT is a training program that provides first responding police officers with the tools, skills, and options they need to successfully and safely defuse a range of critical incidents. Developed by the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) with input from hundreds of police professionals from across the United States, ICAT takes the essential building blocks of critical thinking, crisis intervention, communications, and tactics, and puts them together in an integrated approach to training. ICAT is designed especially for situations involving persons who are unarmed or are armed with weapons other than firearms, and who may be experiencing a mental health or other crisis. The training program is anchored by the Critical Decision-Making Model that helps officers assess situations, make safe and effective decisions, and document and learn from their actions. ICAT incorporates different skill sets into a unified training approach that emphasizes scenario-based exercises, as well as lecture and case study opportunities.

The Medford Police Department’s Firearms Training Unit have received extensive training with regard to police officer response to critical incidents. The Firearms Training Unit incorporates de-escalation tactics into all training of Medford Police Officers. Training incorporates live fire range training, force on force scenario training utilizing airsoft weapons, simulated training scenarios utilizing live ammunition along with interactive video scenarios that require use of communication skills and de-escalation tactics. Training is re-enforced through the use of training bulletins and roll call trainings. During each one of these training iterations, except for firearm qualifications, de­escalation training is woven into every scenario.