Law enforcement focuses on public safety and high-risk situations, with strong behavioral health support<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nWhat Is Mental Crisis 911 Diversion?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Mental crisis 911 diversion<\/span> is a structured process for identifying calls that are primarily about suicide or behavioral health, screening them for safety, and transferring them from 911 to 988 or another crisis line.<\/p>\nThe goal is not to \u201ctake calls away\u201d from law enforcement. It is to send each call to the responder with the best tools:<\/p>\n
\n- If there is immediate danger, weapons, or medical instability, 911 remains the right place.<\/li>\n
- If the primary issue is emotional distress, suicidal thoughts, or a behavioral health crisis, 988 can often resolve the situation without an in-person response.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
In the Los Angeles model, 911 call-takers ask a series of questions to determine whether a caller is experiencing a mental health or suicide-related crisis and whether there are safety factors that require an officer or EMS response. When those risk factors are not present, the call can be transferred directly to the 988 crisis center.<\/p>\n
From there, trained counselors provide:<\/p>\n
\n- Risk assessment for suicide and self-harm<\/li>\n
- De-escalation and emotional support<\/li>\n
- Safety planning and connection to mobile crisis teams or crisis stabilization services<\/li>\n
- Follow-up calls to support the person and family after the immediate crisis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The data from this work is striking: the vast majority of 988 calls are fully resolved over the phone, without an in-person response. Only a small percentage require emergency intervention. That is the power of mental crisis 911 diversion: the right responder, right away, for most people who call for help.<\/p>\n
Why Change Was Necessary: Impact on Community Members<\/b><\/h2>\n
For families and individuals, the traditional 911-only pathway can feel overwhelming.<\/p>\n
When you call 911 about a loved one\u2019s mental health crisis, this is often what happens:<\/p>\n
\n- A marked patrol car arrives outside your home.<\/li>\n
- Sirens and flashing lights draw the attention of neighbors.<\/li>\n
- The person in crisis may be handcuffed or transported involuntarily.<\/li>\n
- Ambulance and hospital bills arrive later, on top of the emotional toll.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Even when everyone involved is compassionate and skilled, the overall experience can reinforce stigma: the message that mental illness is something to be \u201chandled\u201d by law enforcement and the hospital, not something that can be treated in the community.<\/p>\n
In contrast, diversion to 988 reframes the story. The caller is immediately connected to someone whose job is to listen, assess risk, and help determine what support will actually be helpful. When in-person help is needed, it can come from mobile crisis teams or co-responder units that are prepared to spend time listening and connecting people to ongoing care.<\/p>\n
An unexpected equity benefit has also emerged. When Los Angeles analyzed who was being reached through their mental crisis 911 diversion work, they saw:<\/p>\n
\n- A higher proportion of men are connected to 988 through diverted 911 calls<\/li>\n
- A noticeably higher proportion of Black callers coming through the 911 diversion pathway than through direct 988 calls<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This suggests that communities that may be less likely to dial 988 on their own are still accessing help, but they are doing so through 911. Mental crisis 911 diversion helps ensure those calls do not automatically default to a law enforcement\u2013only response.<\/p>\n
The First Responder Perspective: Limits and Opportunities<\/b><\/h2>\n
For law enforcement, mental crisis 911 diversion is not about \u201cdoing less.\u201d It is about doing the right things with the right partners.<\/p>\n
Officers in Los Angeles described the reality of being called to situations that developed over the years: family conflict, untreated illness, lack of services, and trauma. They arrive as strangers, with limited information, and are asked to \u201cfix\u201d a deeply complex situation in minutes.<\/p>\n
Two key concepts have emerged in response:<\/p>\n
\n- Tactical disengagement.<\/b> If a person is in crisis, wants no contact, and is not breaking the law or posing a risk to others, more agencies are choosing to disengage rather than escalate.<\/li>\n
- Shared responsibility.<\/b> Police, fire, EMS, behavioral health, crisis lines, and community providers are all part of the same \u201cwheel.\u201d Each has a different scope, but they share a common goal: support people in crisis as safely and humanely as possible.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Co-responder teams, such as the LAPD SMART teams<\/span><\/a> (an officer paired with a licensed clinician), serve as a crucial bridge. They support patrol officers on complex calls, provide on-scene clinical assessments, and help divert people away from jail or unnecessary hospitalization.<\/p>\nUnarmed crisis teams, nurse practitioner units, and community-based outreach teams add more layers of response for lower-acuity situations or for unhoused people. All of these pieces work better when they are connected by timely information sharing and clear protocols \u2013 precisely the kind of environment where Julota\u2019s interoperability approach is designed to help.<\/p>\n
How Mental Crisis 911 Diversion Works in Practice<\/b><\/h2>\n
While every community will design its own model, several core elements from the Los Angeles experience are widely applicable.<\/p>\n
1. Identifying eligible calls<\/b><\/h3>\n
When a 911 call comes in, call-takers flag potential mental health or suicide-related calls using key phrases and questions. If the primary issue appears to be a behavioral health crisis, they then screen for safety factors that would make diversion inappropriate, such as:<\/p>\n
\n- Active violence or immediate threat of violence<\/li>\n
- Serious medical needs requiring EMS<\/li>\n
- Weapons present with other people at risk<\/li>\n
- High structures (bridges, overpasses) where a responder must be on scene<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
If any of these are present, the call stays within 911, and an officer, EMS, or both respond.<\/p>\n
2. Transferring to 988<\/b><\/h3>\n
If the situation appears safe enough for a telephonic response, the call is transferred to 988. Basic information is shared:<\/p>\n
\n- Incident number<\/li>\n
- Callback number<\/li>\n
- Location<\/li>\n
- Name and a brief description of the situation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
From there, the crisis center treats the call like any other crisis contact: they complete a risk assessment, provide de-escalation, safety planning, and refer the individual to services. If the situation becomes unsafe or requires an in-person response, there is a direct line back to 911.<\/p>\n
3. Tracking outcomes and closing the loop<\/b><\/h3>\n
Data from the 911 diversion initiative shows:<\/p>\n
\n- Most calls diverted to 988 are resolved without any in-person response.<\/li>\n
- Of the calls that do require someone to respond in person, only a small percentage require law enforcement.<\/li>\n
- Many people can transport themselves to care, connect with mobile crisis teams, or receive follow-up support instead of being taken to the hospital in crisis.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
This is where coordinated data systems matter. When 911 centers, 988 crisis lines, mobile crisis teams, co-responder units, and community providers all operate in silos, it is hard to see what happens to a call after transfer. Platforms like Julota can help agencies share essential information, track outcomes across partners, and identify gaps or equity issues in the crisis system.<\/p>\n
Building a Community-Centered Crisis System<\/b><\/h2>\n
Los Angeles did not get here overnight. The diversion program grew out of:<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.julota.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/JULOTA-pdf-CRP.webp\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Jail Diverson\/Co-Responder<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\tMental health systems across the country are undergoing a quiet yet profound shift. For decades, communities trained the public to do one thing in a crisis: call 911. That made sense when most emergencies were fire, medical, or law enforcement related. Today, an increasing number of those calls concern individuals in deep emotional distress.\u00a0The emerging solution is a new kind of partnership: mental crisis 911 diversion, combined with co-responder<\/span><\/a>, 988,<\/span> and community-based teams that can provide the proper care at the right time.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.julota.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/mental-crisis-911-diversion-300x157.png\")
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