Crisis Intervention training Houston Police Department CIT

Texas is the only state in the nation to mandate crisis intervention and de-escalation training for all peace officers in the state (Senate Bill 1473).
The Houston Police Department has the largest CIT program in the nation with 829 CIT officers in patrol and 260 CIT trained officers in non-patrol assignments.
All Houston Police Department cadets receive the 40-hour CIT class and serve as CIT officers upon graduating from the academy.
All Houston Police Department call-takers and dispatchers receive 16 hours of CIT training. Call-takers and dispatchers are crucial to the success of the CIT program. It is important to educate them about the objectives of the program and the important roles they play.
The Houston Police Department provided the state-mandated 16-hour CIT class to all Texas police chiefs through the Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas at Sam Houston State University.
The Houston Police Department has trained over 900 regional and state officers in the 40-hour CIT curriculum and over 700 regional and state officers in the 16-hour mandated class.
The Houston Police Department has a Mental Health Unit that overseas the department's multi-faceted, comprehensive strategy for responding to individuals in serious mental health crisis. The CIT program is the foundation of this strategy.

A New Approach
There are 2 primary approaches to administering a CIT program. The first approach, the Memphis Model, is when you have a completely voluntary program. The goal is to train a certain percentage of your patrol force as CIT officers, usually 25%, with all volunteers. The second approach is to train all patrol personnel. There are arguments for and against each approach. Houston has adopted a hybrid approach involving veteran officers and cadets. The program is voluntary for veterans. However, all cadets receive the 40-hour CIT curriculum and serve as CIT officers upon graduating from the academy.