The City of Richmond has joined four other regions in Virginia using the Marcus Alert. The law, passed last year, aims to minimize the likelihood of individuals experiencing mental or behavioral health crises from going to jail.
A trained professional will first attempt to resolve the situation over the phone in mental health calls—before deciding to involve law enforcement—in the following five regions:
One: The Counties of Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange and Rappahannock
Two: Prince William County
Three: The independent city of Bristol and Washington County
Four: The independent city of Virginia Beach
Five: The independent city of Richmond
The five regions have a combined population of about 1,450,000, or roughly 17% of the Commonwealth’s population.
NBC 12 further reports:
” All we had were police. If someone calls and says they are suffering a mental health crisis, we would send the police. Now, we have this additional tool,” said Richmond Department of Emergency Communications Director Stephen Willoughby.
Officials say this new way of thinking involves collaboration.
…
NBC 12 in Richmond reports that police will only know you are being treated for mental health if the individual provides it through the emergencyprofile.org website and only if they call 911 from the mobile phone number listed.
Click here for more information about Marcus Alert.