FREEHOLD – The Monmouth County Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training was recently recognized as Program of the Year at the ninth annual New Jersey CIT Forum, held at the Middlesex County Fire Academy in Sayreville.
The Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office (MCPO) launched its inaugural round of CIT Training in June 2021, with a goal of turning it into a trusted blueprint for such programs statewide.
“This award represents validation of what those of us directly involved in CIT already know: this training is of vital importance, it works effectively, and its application literally saves lives,” Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago said. “As more officers are trained, we continue to hear touching and encouraging stories about how just one week of training allowed them to intervene at among the lowest points in a person’s life, helping steer individuals in crisis to recovery.”
The training gives an in-depth look at mental illness, behavioral health, developmental disabilities and their implications for a law-enforcement response during a crisis, with a strong emphasis on de-escalation.
Instructors for MCPO’s CIT training include behavioral and mental health professionals from Monmouth Medical Center, the Monmouth County Mental Health Association, the Monmouth County Mental Health Board and CPC Behavioral Healthcare, as well as crisis resolution experts.
Officers learn to apply the strategies they learn in real-life situations in order to minimize the potential for injury or violence. In addition, mental and behavioral health practitioners will sit in as students in the class in order to build relationships with the police officers, and to better understand the issues they face.
“MCPO’s CIT training is unique in that it also features a specially tailored curriculum with innovative approaches to crisis management, including FBI Negotiation and Threat Simulator components, a presentation on Faith & Blue (a police-chaplaincy partnership program), and training on recognition of signs of dementia,” a press release stated.
Last year, Long Branch Police Department Detective Sergio Chaparro and local Peer Recovery Specialist Nikki Tierney were honored to respectively accept the New Jersey CIT Law Enforcement Officer of the Year and Peer of the Year awards for their joint work in saving a life in crisis in summer 2021.
During their training, Chaparro struck up a conversation with Tierney, a certified crisis counselor and exchanged contact information. They reconnected just days later during a vital real-life situation.
One weekday afternoon in July 2021, first responders found a 58-year-old named Tim (last name redacted) on a public bench in Long Branch, dehydrated, homeless, and barely responsive.
Chaparro recognized Tim’s name since he had previously responded to several calls for service involving him, including multiple previous overdoses. Knowing who he was, Chaparro reached out to Tierney through dispatch and asked that she come meet him.
After less than an hour, Tim was linked to housing, mental health and substance use disorder support. Tierney attributed his change of heart in great part due to Chaparro’s initial response.
There have also been similar stories CIT trained officers who have encountered individuals in crisis and connected them to resources. Among the towns, situations have risen out of Asbury Park, Hazlet, Holmdel, Keyport, and Spring Lake Heights, officials said.
More than half of the various law-enforcement agencies in Monmouth County have had at least one CIT training participant to date.
“We hosted our fifth round of CIT training at our office in Freehold the week before last, and we plan to continue with two training sessions annually for the foreseeable future,” said MCPO Director of Investigations Hoda Soliman, who also coordinates the CIT training in Monmouth County. “It’s a rare win-win-win: our police officers benefit, our community partners benefit, and the people they protect and serve benefit.”
“The Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners is proud to be supportive of the Prosecutor’s Office providing this incredible training,” Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone said. “We commend the Prosecutor’s Office, and their partners, for their well-deserved recognition and winning this prestigious award.”
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