In Waukesha County, an innovative approach to handling mental health crises is highlighting the importance of collaboration between law enforcement and mental health professionals. A Facebook post by the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department has put the spotlight on Emma Geach and Maddie Reinke, the embedded mental health professionals within the department, whose expertise becomes critical when deputies encounter mental health-related calls.
These two professionals, Geach and Reinke, bring a wealth of experience and training to their roles, where they work directly alongside deputies in crisis situations; their presence aims to provide immediate assessments and connect individuals to requisite resources—and with an increase in mental health-related dispatches, their on-site interventions are crucial, aiming to rapidly de-escalate situations and chart paths towards treatment rather than incarceration. According to the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department Facebook post, the co-responder program, which began in November 2021, places these professionals on the front lines to ensure that individuals experiencing a mental health crisis get connected with the help they need as soon as possible.
Geach, who stepped into her current role in July 2025, is seasoned with a background in child protective services and correctional settings, and she is doubly licensed as a substance abuse counselor and an advanced practice social worker; Reinke, who joined as the second shift embedded mental health professional in May 2022, has a wealth of experience as a crisis worker spanning seven years. As of July 2025, Reinke has been on the first shift, demonstrating the department's commitment to having trained mental health personnel available at all times, as reported by the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department.
A trend of increasing mental health calls demands more than the traditional law enforcement approach; it requires the empathetic and informed response that professionals like Geach and Reinke provide, their aim is to reduce distress, aid law enforcement in understanding the intricacies of mental health, and ultimately engender better outcomes for all affected parties. "By providing compassionate care to members of our community, they empower people to get connected with needed mental health services and other resource to improve their overall well-being," reads the post from the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department. This public acknowledgment during National Co-Responder and Crisis Responder week reflects an evolving understanding of mental health intervention and the need for cross-disciplinary collaboration to improve community outcomes.
