Mental health professionals will be dispatched to 911 calls in Chicago instead of cops following defund the police protests – as gang members now outnumber officers ten to one amid mass exodus from the force
- The city is launching a two-part ‘alternative response’ pilot program this fall that takes a more public health approach to responding to mental health 911 calls
- A mental health professional and a paramedic will be dispatched to mental health-related calls instead of police officers
- Mental health professionals will also be stationed inside 911 call centers and, from October, will be responding to some 911 calls by phone
- The initiatives aim to both ensure people suffering a mental health crisis get the help they need rather than jailed and free police up for tackling crime
- It comes amid a mass exodus of cops from Chicago PD with 363 officers retiring between January and June this year – higher than the whole of 2018
- Defund the police protests following George Floyd’s murder have left only around 13,000 cops remaining while some crimes have surged
- More than 100 people were shot and at least 17 killed over July 4 weekend alone, while shootings have spiked 11% so far this year