El Paso’s Crisis Intervention Team, the co-response unit that pairs specially trained police officers with Emergence Health Network clinicians, is getting called into an ever larger share of 911 calls as mental health emergencies spike across the city. Police say the department has logged roughly 900 emergency detentions so far this year, and the CIT has handled about half of those cases. Local health leaders say the program is steering the vast majority of people away from jail and crowded emergency rooms.
According to KFOX, the El Paso Police Department told reporters it has carried out about 900 emergency detentions this year and that the CIT has covered roughly half of those incidents. The outlet quoted Emergence Health Network chief operating officer Chrystal Davis saying the partnership began in 2019 and that EHN recorded 3,809 CIT interventions, of which 98% were diverted and not sent to jail or to the emergency room. KFOX also noted that officers sign up for CIT shifts on a volunteer basis and that calls labeled “in progress,” including possible suicides, jump to the top of the dispatch list.
As outlined by Emergence Health Network, the CIT model assigns a clinician and a specially trained officer to respond together so they can provide on-scene assessment, verbal de-escalation, and connection to follow-up care. EHN materials describe a 24-hour crisis hotline, mobile crisis units and an Extended Observation Unit that is intended to keep people out of hospital emergency departments when possible. Officials say those services form the backbone of the county’s diversion strategy.
How the co-response model works
Local reporting traces the program’s launch to late 2018 and its formal expansion into 2019, when the city signed off on funding and the first co-response teams started taking calls. As KVIA reported, the early setup placed a clinician beside an officer in a patrol car so teams could calm crises on scene and avoid unnecessary arrests. Program documents and local news coverage also highlight specialized training for CIT officers and a clear emphasis on steering people toward treatment instead of incarceration.
Funding and staffing squeeze
Even with strong diversion numbers, capacity has not caught up with demand. The City of El Paso’s fiscal recovery plan shows targeted dollars for the CIT program, but only part of the needed positions have actually been funded. The plan sets aside money for several CIT slots within a broader package of police and behavioral health investments, yet advocates say that still falls short of what is required. The result, they warn, is that teams can be stretched thin during busy stretches, which leaves some calls waiting for a co-response unit instead of getting immediate help.
On-the-ground results and limits
Independent coverage has found that the co-response model cuts down on repeat calls and keeps people out of jail, while also flagging gaps that appear as the system grows. Reporting by El Paso Matters found the program had already diverted hundreds of people within its first years, and also underscored the need for more teams and more resources. Emergence Health Network materials and local data point to high call volumes on crisis hotlines and stress the importance of follow-up services that can head off another emergency down the road.
Police and EHN leaders say the heavy call load is a sign that public awareness is rising, with community members increasingly asking dispatchers for the CIT by name. Police and Emergency officials told KFOX they hope to build out staffing and mobile units as new funding and clinic capacity come online. For now, the co-response teams remain the front line of a broader effort to keep people in care instead of in cuffs.
