Social workers replace NYPD for 911 ‘mental’ calls, regardless of violence or crime

Communist Mayor Bill de Blasio will send social workers to 911 calls that involve mental health issues.

Currently, NYPD officers and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are the default first responders to 911 calls reporting individuals experiencing mental distress, regardless of whether the violence occurs or whether a crime is involved.

Putting Social Workers in Harm’s Way

In the pilot program announced by de Blasio on Tuesday, however, such calls will mostly be answered by mental health experts and social workers trained to handle mental health crises, with police officers included only in cases where there is a clear threat of violence.

“One in five New Yorkers struggle with a mental health condition. Now, more than ever, we must do everything we can to reach those people before crisis strikes,” de Blasio said in a statement. “For the first time in our city’s history, health responders will be the default responders for a person in crisis, making sure those struggling with mental illness receive the help they need.”

If you gave a mental health exam to criminals, would any of them come up normal?

This seems like an ineffective program that might end in the death of many social workers.

De Blasio said the program would be rolled out in February 2021 in two precincts in high-need areas.

As he defunds the police, he will fund programs like this.

Patrick Lynch, president of the Police Benevolent Association labor union, expressed concerns that de Blasio’s pilot program may put mental health workers in harm’s way.

“Police officers know that we cannot single-handedly solve our city’s mental health disaster, but this plan will not do that either,” Lynch said in a statement. “It will undoubtedly put our already overtaxed EMS colleagues in dangerous situations without police support.”

Lynch added that the program is not addressing the fundamental causes of mental health issues in the city. “We need a complete overhaul of the rest of our mental health care system so that we can help people before they are in crisis, rather than just picking up the pieces afterward,” he said.

We need to deal with drug problems, and we need residential mental health facilities.

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