Mission Critical Partners to assess Columbus’s alternative-response capabilities
Mission Critical Partners (MCP) has been engaged by the city of Columbus, Ohio, to conduct comprehensive assessments of its various approaches and capabilities for responding to events that are outside the realm of traditional law enforcement, fire/rescue, and emergency medical incidents. Examples include incidents involving behavioral/mental health, substance abuse/addiction, and low-acuity medical calls, e.g., sprains, flu-like symptoms, a minor cut requiring stitches, and stomach pains.
The assessments will focus on the following:
- Rapid Response Emergency and Addiction Crisis Team (RREACT)
- Specialized Program Assessing Resource Connectivity (SPARC)
- Right Response Unit (RRU)
- Mobile Crisis Response (MCR) Unit
- Existing plans and vision for the Referral Triage Line
- Coordination between the 911 and 988 systems
- Potential for a non-police response unit
Communities across the nation are learning that government and community entities other than traditional public safety agencies can respond effectively to a wide variety of non-emergency situations. These alternative responses can deliver the appropriate response faster, decrease the risk to public safety personnel and residents, and, most importantly, save more lives and keep communities safer.
“The environment for providing critical assistance to residents is becoming more varied and complex, seemingly by the day, which is making alternative response vitally important,” said Darrin Reilly, MCP’s president and CEO. “Columbus officials are showing great vision in launching this assessment, and the breadth and depth of our expertwise make MCP uniquely qualified to support this impactful endeavor.”
A high-profile alternative-response capability concerns the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which went live in 2022 and was given the 988 designation by the FCC the same year. The idea is that people suffering from a mental-health or substance-abuse crisis can call or text 988 and receive the appropriate help as quickly as they would if they called 911 to report a home invasion or a house fire. Many mental health and public safety professionals believe that the 988 and 911 systems working in concert will create a powerful, holistic approach to local mental health crisis response, which is why Columbus officials are interested in the current state of coordination.
In Columbus, MCP subject-matter experts (SMEs) will gather information to inform the assessments in several ways, including stakeholder interviews, focus groups, town-hall meetings, surveys, analysis of incident-response data, and reviews of existing research. The assessment will leverage MCP’s proprietary Model for Advancing Public Safety (MAPS) methodology, which leverages the collective expertise of the firm’s 215-plus SMEs, industry standards and best practices, and accreditation programs.
“Historically, police have been the first responders to every societal challenge, from mental illness to substance abuse to homelessness to noise complaints and more. It’s unfair both to them and to our community, which long has advocated for alternative crisis-response models,” said Shannon G. Hardin, president of the Columbus city council, which funded the study. “I believe that Mission Critical Partners’ recommendations will help us enhance and scale existing diversion and co-responder programs. They’ll also help us consider new approaches that deploy people with the right skills to the right crises, keep people safe, and advance community trust.”
