Crisis Response Teams

The physician or mental health professional decides whether the recipient requires hospitalization or other services.  Crisis responders who are not health officers may need to seek assistance from the other key group of people, peace officers.  The term “peace officer” includes any sheriff or municipal or other local police officer or state patrol officer when engaged in the authorized duties of office. 

The police officer may transport a person to a physician or treatment facility.  Like the health officers, they must base their decision regarding whether to transport the person on their assessment of the dangerousness of the person in question.  This assessment must be based on the direct observation of the person’s behavior or upon reliable information of the person’s recent behavior and knowledge of the person’s past behavior or psychiatric treatment. 

The crisis responder can be instrumental to the peace officer in making this decision by providing information about the person’s behavior and/or psychiatric treatment.  Upon arrival at the facility, the peace officer has the responsibility to request admission to the treatment facility in writing.  Again, the physician or mental health professional at the treatment facility decides whether the person requires inpatient hospitalization or other services.