Mental illness impacts 1 in 4 American families. In fact, mental illnesses are the number one disability in this country; however, it was not until the covid pandemic that the bulk of the population began to talk openly about this topic. Seeing as a projected 60% of people suffering from a mental illness will encounter some version of law enforcement, police departments across the country have begun to adapt in a way to address some of these less violent interactions.
Fortunately for the citizens of Appleton, the local police department has been ahead of the game for almost 20 years. We have had a behavior health department since 2004, and I was able to sit down for a conversation with Officer Ignacio Enriquez Jr. (Nacho), who has been a part of the team since 2008. When we started the conversation, he told me that this approach was inspired by what he referred to as the “Memphis Model.”
“Essentially, the Memphis Model is an effort to put together law enforcement with other providers: clinicians, mental health providers, etc, to put together a cohesive approach to addressing the needs that the community presents when it comes to mental health.”
This collaborative approach has allowed for the Appleton Police Department build trust and rapport within the community, which only strengthens law enforcement’s ability to do their jobs, and do them well. He elaborated “It’s a team approach. I myself cannot go and work on a system that requires an entire community to be a part of it.”
We then pivoted to talking about the differences between a behavioral health officer and a more traditional style of police work, and that boils down to one issue: time. “I have the ability to invest more time in the individual, meaning the patrol response typically is I go, I see problem, I fix problem, I go on to the next call that is pending for me. Unfortunately, for patrol level response, the time that is needed to truly be an advocate for folks going through a difficult time is not there.”
We wrapped up our conversation talking about the future of this program, and discussing where Officer Enriquez sees the program going in the future. “I do see it becoming more of a regional approach, and it is only a matter of time until that happens. I truly believe there’s going to be a lot more people, not only in Law Enforcement, but outside of that because it’s going to take all of us, that are going to have a more cohesive, large team approach to this part of the response system that we currently have.”
Officer Enriquez offered me some great insight, and more importantly, optimism, into how policing will continue to evolve in the coming months and years, and I for one am excited to see that come to fruition. To hear the entire interview, click the link below.
