STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. — A local police department told Channel 2′s Tom Jones the number of mental health-related calls has doubled over the last couple of years.
The Stockbridge Police Department says because of this, they are adding a Mental Health Specialist to go out on calls with officers. The department told Channel 2 Action News this is an effort to keep the public and officers safe.
The department shared a recent bodycam video where officers helped a mentally challenged person who had run away. The call came in as a suspicious person call.
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Officers believe the number of mental health-related calls has exploded.
“We had 139 calls for service in 2021. We’ve had 330 calls for service as of 2022 and 2023,” Lt. Sherrie Gilbert-Ramsey said.
With this increase, police are adding a Behavioral Health Specialist to go out on calls with officers.
“Any type of call that would be considered a crisis call or behavioral health call,” she said.
Police said the idea is to keep officers and the mental health public safe and to get citizens help instead of locking them up when there isn’t a serious crime.
“The clinician will step in to make sure that that person receives the help they need,” Gilbert-Ramsey said.
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Gilbert-Ramsey is also a licensed counselor. She believes the specialist won’t just help the public, she believes the specialist will help officers as well.
“This will help free up some of the officers’ time so they can go to some of the more critical calls,” she pointed out.
Police told Channel 2 Action News they already make sure officers have mental health training. They hope the specialist can offer more training to its force.
With a partnership with the Mcintosh Trail Community Service Board, a grant is paying for it all.
The department hopes to have the specialist in place sometime in July.
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