LAFAYETTE, Louisiana. (KLFY) — The rise in police calls associated to psychological well being can simply have an effect on regulation enforcement’s capacity to take care of it and combat crime.
The Lafayette Police Division is responding to that concern and has allowed Information 10 to experience in considered one of its new psychological well being items.
The Lafayette Police Psychological Well being Unit, CARES, has been on patrol since late January. So far, as a pilot program, the LPD has a unit manned by two skilled individuals.
Corporal Katelynn Shautin is without doubt one of the members of the LPD Psychological Well being Response Group that Information 10 was in a position to converse with. Shautin is a former ambulance employee and has been a police officer for six years.
“I’ve handled many incidents like maniacs or somebody having an episode and you must discuss to them calmly in a sure means. You must management all of your feelings as a result of all you’re going to do is exaggerate them and you may’t,” Shautin stated.
Police have realized that crime is usually primarily based on some kind of want. Sergeant. Kristina Sturdy says the primary responders within the CARES unit are skilled and educated.
“Somebody might have hospital care and we might help them get to an inpatient facility. If what they want is outpatient care, we might help them with that outpatient care,” Sturdy stated. “We’re in a psychological well being disaster throughout America and that’s on the forefront of every part we see.”