The pilot, recommended in a report from the University of Louisville’s  Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky (CIK), housed in the School of Public Health and Information Sciences, would initially be limited to critical incident 911 calls from LMPD’s Fourth Division. It involves establishing:

• A Behavioral Health Hub, with health crisis interventionists integrated in the MetroSafe 911 call center. Call takers would direct certain Critical Incident calls to an interventionist, who would help further triage the crisis to determine whether it could be de-escalated over the phone, if the person in crisis would benefit from a mobile response, or if the scenario called for an LMPD response due to safety concerns. Their mission would be “to assist persons in crisis and first responders by providing empathy, connection, de-escalation and linkage to the right-sized care,” the report says.
• A mobile response unit consisting of trained crisis interventionists to “rapidly respond, effectively screen and assist persons in crisis in accessing the appropriate level of care.”
• A 24-hour “community respite center,” a fully staffed safe place where individuals can stay for up to 24 hours when connected by the mobile response team. There, qualified mental health and substance use professionals will provide evaluations and connect individuals to needed services and resources, beyond what the mobile response team can provide onsite.

The research team recommended the pilot be centered in LMPD’s Fourth Division because of its high number of what Metro terms Crisis Intervention Team-related events; an average of 11.63 events of this type occur each day.

“Our team has been grateful for the opportunity to partner with the community to build a better way of addressing a public health crisis,” said Susan Buchino, who co-directed the research. “Our research has allowed us to examine what other communities have done, while being intentional about listening to the unique needs of our own community. The one thing emphasized by other cities is that it is best to start small, learn from the community what’s working and what needs to change, and then refine the process before scaling it.” Buchino is assistant professor in UofL’s School of Public Health and Information Sciences and assistant director of the CIK.

Now that the report has been shared, Fischer said, UofL, Seven Counties Services and other partners will begin to work to implement the plan, with UofL’s stated goal of beginning the pilot in December 2021.

In announcing a nearly $5 million investment in deflection and diversion programs as part of the FY22 budget, Fischer noted that “some situations are best served by a social service response, particularly when dealing with people living with homelessness, mental health challenges or substance use.”

“By quadrupling our investment in violence prevention and capacity-building programs, including in deflection and diversion, we are acting on our shared goal of creating a safe city with fewer arrests and less incarceration for non-violent offenses,” Fischer said. “I appreciate the hard work of the university team to move us closer to that goal.”

Louisville Metro Government contracted with CIK to draft the report and implement the pilot, as part of a plan for reimagining public safety with an emphasis on the whole-of-government and whole-of-city approach, Fischer said.

In its Alternative Responder Model report recommending and outlining the pilot model, the UofL team acknowledged the national debate around public safety, and cites “a pattern in which law enforcement has become a default response in crisis calls, even when the crisis may be a civil issue or one best resolved by health care or social services.

“Even the officers themselves – in Louisville and elsewhere – admit they are asked to do too much, often without the best tools for serving the person in crisis, especially when it is a behavioral health need,” the report says.

The report is the result of seven months of study by CIK and a multidisciplinary team consisting of the Kentucky Department of Behavioral Health, Development and Intellectual Disabilities; Spalding’s School of Social Work; Seven Counties Services (SCS); and community members, charged with assessing the feasibility and development an alternative response model that appropriately meets the need of Louisville’s residents.

“As the region’s leading provider of mental health services, Seven Counties Services is well positioned for this community partnership to help our neighbors in crisis who need mental health treatment or other social services as opposed to a police response,” said Abby Drane, president and CEO of Seven Counties Services/Bellewood & Brooklawn. “We are hopeful that this deflection program will best serve our neighbors and aid in the effort to modernize public safety for the Louisville Metro area. This plan will provide a more streamlined path to critical services for those with a mental health or addiction crisis.”

Their work included a review of police deflection activities in other U.S. communities; a series of interviews and focus groups with community members, behavioral health providers, and Metro Government leaders, as well as observations of Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) responses to 911 calls that could potentially be deflected and activities in the MetroSafe 911 Call Center, and an extensive review of MetroSafe 911 data.

The team also engaged with a Community Advisory/Accountability Board, which has met routinely since April to provide oversight and recommendations to the team’s research and planning – an effort to enhance community ownership and sustainability for the new program.

The report stresses that continual evaluation of the program is key, and that expansion beyond the pilot phase should occur “in phases that allow researchers to evaluate implementation and outcome and identify areas of improvement and success.”

On Friday, from 3-4 p.m. in the University Club’s Ballrooms B & C, a reception will be held to celebrate Hall as he retires from UofL after a total of 47 years of public safety service.

Prior to joining UofL, Hall spent 21 years with the Louisville Metro Police Department in four patrol districts, the narcotics unit, criminal investigations division and crimes against children unit. He applied to UofL after his retirement with the LMPD.

“During my time (with the LMPD), I got to know several university police officers. They were always telling me how great a place UofL was to work. They were right,” he said. “UofL has been a great place to work. I have enjoyed my time here tremendously.”

UofL News had the opportunity to talk to Hall about his favorite memories, what has changed most during his career and what he will miss most about UofL.

UofL News: In your time here, do you have one or two specific stories that stand out as your favorites?

WH: After the police involved shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, there was a great deal of animosity toward police officers. A public forum was held here at UofL to discuss how to move forward. Afterwards students told me they liked their university police officers. The students felt the officers cared about them and their safety. It made me very happy to hear the students recognized the officers cared about them and work hard to keep them safe.

UofL News: What has been the biggest challenge about working on a college campus, if it’s possible to pinpoint just one?

WH: A big challenge is the ever evolving roles and responsibilities of campus police officers to meet the needs of an increasingly complex community. Many of society’s ills are now placed on the shoulder of police to address. Campus police have to be trained to respond and mediate incidents involving active shooters, domestic violence, sexual assaults, mental and behavioral health, drug overdoses, public disturbances, etc.

What has changed the most about law enforcement since your career began?

WH: The relationship between law enforcement and the community they serve. I believe there is a ‘bucket’ of good will between law enforcement and the community. When that bucket is full, the community is willing to support an officer and give them the benefit of the doubt. In many communities that bucket is empty so the support is not there. I think it is imperative that law enforcement agencies have an intensive community-oriented policing environment. Through community-oriented policing law enforcement can work with the community to fill and maintain the ‘bucket.

UofL News: What is your favorite part of campus?

WH: My favorite location is Parrish Court on Belknap Campus. Even though it is in the center of campus it is a serene place to sit and relax.

UofL News: What will you miss most about working at UofL? Least?

WH: I will miss the people. They are like family. We have gone through a lot together the past 26 years.

I will not miss the late night and early morning phone calls to discuss whether to cancel or delay school due to in-clement weather.

UofL News: UofL has repeatedly been recognized as one of the country’s safest campuses; to what do you attribute that recognition, from your vantage point?

WH: I attribute a large part of our success to the community–oriented policing/problem solving philosophy adopted by the Department of Public Safety. The Department partnered with the Dean of Students Office, Residence Life, and Student Government to provide safety programming.

The Department and the University are fortunate to have one of the most experienced and best trained departments in the Commonwealth. The police officers use this experience and training to keep the university community safe.

 The university administration has allowed the Department of Public Safety the resources through tough budget times to increase the number of police officers and security officers. The increase in resources has allowed the Department the flexibility to assign personnel in areas of concern.

UofL News: Finally, what are your retirement plans?

WH: Short-range plans are a cruise to Alaska in May. Also,my wife and I celebrate our 50^th anniversary in June. No long-range plans at this time.

Locations with specific schedules and occupant impact are listed below:

Monday, July 25

Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium:

• Fire Hydrant testing will discharge into grassy and parking lot areas. Area will be cordoned off for safety.
• Fire Pump testing will discharge into drain.

Tuesday, July 26

Unitas Hall:

• Fire Pump testing will require water to be ejected from roof of building of Unitas. Area will be cordoned off for safety.

University Tower Apartments:

• Fire Pump testing will discharge into parking lot. Area to be cordoned off for safety.

Wednesday, July 27

School of Music:

• Fire Pump testing will discharge onto sidewalk between the north and south buildings, then down to the street. Area will be cordoned off for safety.

Ekstrom Library:

• Fire Pump testing will discharge onto sidewalk on south east corner. Area will be cordoned off for safety.

Fire Pump testing will cause building Fire Safety Systems to be disabled during the test, which means there will be no alarm soundings at the building. Any Fire Alarm activations will route to Public Safety and be called out to the appropriate safety personnel as normal.

The 24 remaining Fire Hydrants across Belknap Campus will also be tested during these three days. There will be minimal to no impact for building occupants, vehicle or pedestrian traffic from the testing of these hydrants. You may notice wet gutters and/or roadways, which is normal.

For additional information, contact Work Control, 852-6241. 

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