History of the Crisis Intervention Team

1991 - The Impetus for Working on Mental Health Issues

Senior Officer Frank Webb, the person most responsible for the implementation of the program in the Houston Police Department, initially worked to streamline the process of obtaining an emergency detention order (EDO) in Houston/Harris County. The process was very complicated and time consuming. Officers had to complete a seven-page mental health packet, had to have it signed by a judge and notarized before the officer could take the mental health consumer to a facility for emergency evaluation. On average, the process took seven hours to complete. It was very frustrating for all concerned, kept the officers off of patrol for prolonged periods of time, and delayed treatment for the consumer in crisis. To add to the problem, the only facility available for indigent involuntary consumers was Ben Taub Hospital, with an in-patient capacity of 12 beds! The beds would quickly fill up resulting in officers having to stay with the consumer until a bed became available. This added several more hours to an already lengthy process.

1992 - The Roots of Collaboration and CIT

In an effort to address the lengthy time it took to obtain an EDO and the lack of beds, Senior Officer Webb met with Dr. Steven Schnee, the new executive director of the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority (MHMRA) of Harris County. From the start, Dr. Schnee was receptive to streamlining the process for obtaining an EDO and adding bed capacity. Dr. Schnee developed a schematic of a facility that would be able to handle the number of consumers brought in by police in a timely manner. This facility, the NeuroPsychiatric Center (NPC), was opened in 1999.

Dr. Steven Schnee This was the start of a very strong collaboration that exists today between the Houston Police Department and the mental health community in Houston/Harris County. It took four years to streamline the process of obtaining an EDO. During this time, Senior Officer Webb met with state legislators, probate judges, mental health professionals, and other law enforcement officers in an effort to learn about the Mental Health Code and the procedures for obtaining an EDO in other jurisdictions across the state and nation. Working on this issue was not part of Senior Officer Webb’s routine duties. He worked on it in addition to his regular duties when he found time.

1993 - First Class on Mental Illness Developed

It was obvious to Dr. Schnee and Senior Officer Webb that there was a need to better educate officers about mental illness. Most officers had no training regarding the different mental disorders or the tactics and techniques that were proven to help de-escalate a situation involving an individual in a serious mental health crisis. Most officers had a very negative attitude about mental illness. One reason was the complicated and time consuming process of obtaining an emergency detention order. A second reason was that most officers did not understand what was happening with an individual in a serious mental health crisis and thus did not feel confident when responding to these situations. A third reason most officers responded negatively to this issue was that many did not feel responding to individuals with mental illness was the role of law enforcement. To address these concerns, Dr. Schnee assigned one of his psychologists to work with Senior Officer Webb to develop a class on mental illness. An eight-hour elective in-service class titled Dealing with the Mentally Ill was developed in 1993. Staff from the Houston Police Department, MHMRA, the Alliance on Mental Illness, and local mental health consumers assisted in the training. The class was taught from 1993 to 1996.

1995 - Visit to Los Angeles Police Department’s Mental Evaluation Unit

Dr. Schnee sent Senior Officer Webb and a MHMRA social worker to Los Angeles (CA) to study the police department’s Mental Evaluation Unit (MEU) and Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Team (SMART). Although it was decided these were the types of programs for Houston, it started an examination of specialized programs for law enforcement response to the mentally ill. Upon returning from Los Angeles, Senior Officer Webb received permission from Sam Nuchia, Chief of Police, to form a committee within the Houston Police Department to study specialized programs across the nation and the feasibility of piloting a program within the department. The committee was comprised of members of the Houston Police Department and MHMRA and researched programs from Memphis (TN), Albuquerque (NM), and Los Angeles (CA).

1995 - The Process of Obtaining an Emergency Detention Order (EDO) Streamlined

The process for obtaining an EDO was significantly changed. Prior to 1995, officers had to complete a seven-page mental health packet and had to have it signed by a judge and notarized before the consumer could be brought to the facility for emergency psychiatric evaluation. In 1995, with the help of Dr. Schnee, the process was changed to the officer taking the consumer directly to the facility for evaluation and completing a three-page mental health packet at the facility. The officer waited until the packet was faxed to a judge, signed by the judge and faxed back.

1996 - Recommendation to Chief of Police for Pilot CIT Program

Senior Officer Webb met with Chief of Police Sam Nuchia and his command staff to recommend piloting a Mental Health Response Unit (what is today CIT). Chief Nuchia denied the proposal but did mandate 16 hours of training regarding mental health issues for all patrol sergeants.

1997 - Mandatory 16-hour Class for all Patrol Sergeants

All patrol sergeants received the 16-hour mandatory class on mental health issues in 1997.

1998 - Formation of Harris County Criminal Justice Workgroup

The Mental Health Association of Greater Houston, under the direction of Executive Director Betsy Schwartz, formed a multi-agency workgroup to look at the barriers to responding to the mentally ill in Harris County. Senior Officer Webb was a member of the workgroup. The committee decided the primary issue to address was law enforcement’s response to individuals in serious mental health crises. The committee worked to develop a CIT program for the Houston Police Department.

1999 - Opening of NeuroPsychiatric Center (NPC) and Further Streamlining of Procedures for Obtaining an EDO

The NeuroPsychiatric Center (NPC) opened in October 1999. The facility is a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week, 365-days-a-year operation. It is staffed with psychiatrists, nurses, social workers and psychiatric technicians. It has capacity for approximately 60 individuals in serious mental health crises. With the opening of the NPC, Dr. Schnee was able to further streamline the procedures for obtaining an EDO. Starting in 1999, officers take the consumer directly to the NPC, complete a one-page form, and return to duty! The officer no longer has to wait for the form to be faxed to a judge, signed and returned. The average time an officer spends at the NPC is 15 minutes.

1999 - Pilot CIT Program

The chief of the Houston Police Department, C. O. "Brad" Bradford, approved a request by Betsy Schwartz to pilot a CIT program in the Houston Police Department. The proposal was to pilot a program, based on the Albuquerque (NM) Police Department, in one patrol division for one year. The pilot started in July 1999 in the Central Patrol Division with 63 officers trained.

2000 - Department-wide Implementation

The pilot was so successful that, after six months, the chief of the Houston Police Department, C. O. Bradford, ordered that the program be implemented in all patrol divisions. Department-wide expansion started in March of 2000. In June 2000, 213 patrol officers had received the training. By January 2001, approximately 700 officers (25% of patrol) received the training.

2001 - Position of CIT Coordinator Approved

By January 2001, the Houston Police Department had the largest CIT program in the nation with over 700 CIT officers in 15 patrol divisions. The program was in need of a person to coordinate it. Chief C. O. Bradford approved of Senior Officer Frank Webb taking that position. The CIT Coordinator’s position reported directly to the executive assistant chief over patrol operations. Senior Officer Webb served in that capacity until August 2006.

2005 - State Mandated CIT Training

A very significant development that is directly related to the Houston Police Department’s CIT program is the passage of Senate Bill 1473, The Bob Meadours Act. This act mandates crisis intervention and deescalation
training for all Texas peace officers. The state has mandated the training be 16 hours. The citizen who initiated the law and who testified before the Texas legislature used the Houston Police Department’s CIT Program as the model for this training.

2006 - CIT Administrative Unit Formed

The size and complexity of Houston’s CIT program, along with increased training responsibilities related to Senate Bill 1473, resulted in a program too large for one person (Senior Officer Frank Webb) to coordinate. Chief of Police Harold L. Hurtt approved the formation of a CIT administrative unit in August 2006. This unit is comprised on one lieutenant, three officers and one part-time civilian administrative assistant. The unit reports directly to the executive assistant chief over patrol operations.

Members of the Mental Health Unit
(left to right)
Senior Police Officer Frank Webb,
Officer Priscilla Rayon
Administrative Coordinator Cindy Watson,
Senior Police Officer Mark Caronna,
Unit Supervisor Lt. Mike Lee

2007 - Formation of Mental Health Unit

Chief Hurtt approved the formation of a Mental Health Unit within the Houston Police Department. This unit overseas the departments multi-faceted, comprehensive program for responding to individuals in serious mental health crisis. The CIT program is the foundation of this strategy. Other programs under this unit include the following: training, media, investigations and a Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT) pilot. The CIRT pilot pairs a uniformed CIT officer with a licensed mental health professional from the Mental Health Retardation Authority of Harris County. This team will respond to CIT calls, respond to field officer's requests for assistance with persons in apparent mental health crisis, return patrol officers to patrol duties as quickly as possible when called for assistance, and conduct proactive and follow-up investigations on individuals who repeatedly require police intervention.

Responding to individuals in serious mental health crisis is becoming increasingly challenging for law enforcement agencies. The trend is to develop multiple strategies to address this complex and potentially volatile problem.

2007 - Cadets Receive 40-Hour CIT Curriculum

All Cadets started receiving the 40-Hour CIT curriculum in 2007. Upon graduating from the academy, these new officers are identified as CIT officers and become part of our CIT program.

2008 - The CIRT

The Houston Police Department piloted a Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT) on May 5, 2008. This is a program that teams a Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) officer with a licensed mental health clinician from the Mental Health Mental Retardation Authority (MHMRA) of Harris County. The CIRT program augments the department's Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program. The following are the objectives of CIRT:

Assist CIT officers
Conduct proactive and follow-up investigations on chronic mentally ill individuals
Respond to SWAT and Hostage Negotiation Team calls as a resource for the scene commander
Respond to calls involving the most serious mentally ill individuals.