MSP Collaborative Crisis Response

The Michigan State Police (MSP) is a full-service law enforcement (LE) agency that responds to all manner of calls for service and is the only LE agency responding to calls for service in some areas of Michigan. As such, MSP recognizes the need to expand its crisis response training to better serve citizens who live with behavioral health conditions. To do this, MSP will use the Bureau of Justice Assistance's (BJA) curriculum as the foundation for its crisis response and intervention training (CRIT). This curriculum was selected because it is an intensive, 40-hour course that leverages a triad of (1) classroom, (2) hands-on, and (3) “clinical” learning to develop a practical crisis response skillset. Classroom instruction covers a variety of behavioral health topics with corresponding scenario-based de-escalation practice. Course time is dedicated to engaging with citizens who have interacted with law enforcement during crisis or their families, building rapport during the mutual exchange of ideas and perspective. Together, this three-tiered approach offers a comprehensive view of behavioral health conditions and best practices in crisis response. The BJA’s curriculum will be adapted for MSP in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of subject-matter experts and key community stakeholders to ensure the delivery of a high-quality course that will meet the needs of the 10 million Michiganders that MSP troopers serve. To this end, MSP is collaborating with the Michigan Crisis Intervention System (MI-CIS), an established first responder crisis response training provider affiliated with Western Michigan University’s Homer Stryker, MD, School of Medicine, and the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan. These partnerships will allow MSP to create an evidence-based course and offer troopers regionally specific training on community-based resources for treatment and/or diversion. The MSP CRIT adaptation will include a (1) full 40-hour CRIT course for fully sworn troopers and (2) mini-course that can be integrated in MSP's Trooper Recruit School. Community stakeholders will be recruited to provide feedback on the proposed curriculum during focus group discussions. Once approved, course plans will be implemented with the goal of training 80 troopers, accounting for 2-3 troopers per Post location, and all new recruits. After implementation, knowledge of behavioral health course concepts and overall impact on MSP crisis response will be evaluated. Long-term course feedback will also be solicited. Using the BJA-CRIT framework, MSP will use a data-driven approach to develop and deliver a comprehensive CRIT program for the very first time.