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ChristianaCare mental health clinicians will be paired with police officers to respond to calls for service and provide direct support to the community

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki and Chief of Police Wilfredo Campos today announced the launch of a new initiative that will pair trained mental health clinicians with police officers, who will respond as a team to calls for service and conduct proactive outreach to support those in need in our community.
 
The Wilmington Police Department’s Partners in Care Program is a collaborative effort with ChristianaCare [christianacare.org], which will supply two mental health professionals and a community health liaison to work alongside police officers.
 
“On a daily basis, our police officers encounter individuals suffering from mental and behavioral health challenges who require assistance beyond the scope of a traditional law enforcement response,” said Chief Campos. “Our new Partners in Care Program will help connect individuals in need with resources that are better tailored to address their needs.”
 
Since Chief Campos was appointed to his current position in January 2023, he has been working closely with WPD leadership and ChristianaCare to design this program. WPD representatives have also met with other police departments that have successfully adopted programs like this, including the New Castle County Police Department and the Metropolitan Nashville (Tennessee) Police Department.
 
Part of a growing movement among law enforcement agencies across the country, co-responder teams have shown success in preventing injury and use of force by de-escalating potentially dangerous and volatile situations. They have also been shown to reduce arrests in instances in which no crime has been committed.

“Through our Victim Services Unit, our Youth Response Unit, monthly Community Resource Fairs, and weekly Community Outreach Walks – and now this new initiative – the Wilmington Police Department is supporting members of the public and elevating the overall wellness of our community,” said Chief Campos. “When it comes to mental or behavioral health matters, a compassionate approach in required on the part of our officers. These teams will take our efforts to the next level, and I am excited to launch the pilot phase of this program.”
 
Beginning this month, WPD will operate co-responder teams in two shifts, with coverage from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. Monday through Friday. Each team will include a trained mental health clinician, who will be an employee of ChristianaCare, as well as a uniformed police officer who has completed the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training program. These teams will be supported by a Community Health Liaison, who will provide case management for the program and conduct follow-ups with individuals who have had contact with the co-responder teams.

"This latest initiative from the WPD and its allies in the mental health field is just another great example of the kind of police department that we have,” said Mayor Purzycki. “We continue to develop and refine a culture of policing in Wilmington that our dedicated officers have taken to heart. We know that police across the country are often called upon to address all manner of problems that fall outside the traditional scope of law enforcement, and they can often end badly. By working closely with our partners across various sectors – social service, public health, community service – the WPD is helping to meet the pressing needs of residents and strengthen neighborhoods, all the while building valuable trust in the community.”
 
Co-responder teams will travel in marked patrol vehicles, and the mental health clinicians will wear green shirts with “Partners in Care” displayed on the front and back.
 
“At ChristianaCare we are so excited to be joining the WPD in this important work to serve the behavioral health needs of our neighbors in the city of Wilmington,” said Erin Booker, LPC, Chief Biopsychosocial Officer at ChristianaCare. “We know that strategic partnership is one of the most important ways to ensure that we are connecting those in need with services and amplifies our commitment to take care of the whole person. In partnership with WPD we will be able to provide excellent care while also pushing against the stigma associated with behavioral health and we are incredibly grateful to serve together in this work.”
 
Throughout the pilot phase of this program, WPD leadership will work closely with ChristianaCare to track statistics, measure success, and evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative. Reports will be shared publicly throughout the pilot phase, and these will be used to help guide the further development of this program.
 
To learn more about the Wilmington Police Department’s Partners in Care Program, visit www.WilmingtonDE.gov/PartnersInCare