ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The City of Rochester’s “Person in Crisis” (PIC) team, introduced about five years ago, is still actively responding to dozens of calls every week, according to data from the city’s PIC dashboard.
This week, a viewer named David wrote to News10NBC saying: ““I remember when a PIC team was forming. Then, never heard anymore about it.”
Just last week, the PIC team was deployed following the deadly officer-involved shooting in the 19th ward, which killed 38-year-old Akintunde Campbell.
“Mental health and wellness is a huge concern for us all the way around,” said Rochester Police Captain Greg Bello after the shooting. “So that’s why we’re working with our Person In Crisis team, with victim’s advocates, that sort of thing, all the different ways around to make sure that everybody’s okay.”
The PIC team responds to non-violent calls for people experiencing emergencies, including situations involving “mental and behavioral health including suicidal” individuals, “wellness checks” and “homelessness,” among other things. Since its launch, the team has responded to more than 30,000 calls, according to the city’s dashboard.
The City of Rochester’s PIC Dashboard is available to the public, and is similar to the Rochester Police Department’s Open Data Portal.
The city reports 15% of PIC calls were handled by only PIC members and 20% required a co-response with another agency. Data shows 49 calls resulted in arrests and 136 people declined support. Approximately 58% of calls say “service not provided,” with many of those being because “first responders advised PIC not needed.”
The vast majority of PIC calls, 93%, are referred by the 911 call center. About 6% come from the 211 hotline and the rest come from community members, the 988 lifeline and Rochester police.
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