OVERLAND PARK, Ks. — Holly Grummert, representing Ward 1 on the Overland Park City Council, recently announced she had voted "no" on an initial public safety budget, citing recommendations from the city's mental health task force.
Writing on her Facebook page, Grummert said the task force is "recommending 5 new Co-Responders for our CIT, Crisis Intervention Team. I want to explore what those funding choices would look like. The current budget calls for 1 new Co-Responder and 1 new CIT officer. If we want our 'Policing Force' to include a vigorous Mental Health Division, that is what I want us to explore."
In an interview with 41 Action News, Grummert added that providing more co-responders, would help move the department closer to providing 24-hours-a-day coverage.
"The biggest call volumes are between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. during the week, so it’s a reflection of what the coverage needs to be," Grummert said. "The volumes just increase. We’re moving to 7-10 calls a shift for our co-responders. It’s a full shift, it’s a full day."
Tim DeWeese, Johnson County's director for Mental Health Services, is on the mental health task force. He says it's an efficient use of tax dollars.
"We’ve demonstrated...that it is beneficial for that officer and that social worker to work together to resolve the situation. You avoid a couple different things, you avoid going to the ER, that’s a costly service. You avoid going to the jail, a costly service, and you reduce the amount of time police officers actually have to spend doing that type of work," DeWeese said. "The data is there, it’s successful."
Overland Park Police Department spokesman Officer John Lacy is in favor of the additional resources.
"Right now we have two co-responders with Overland Park, but there’s always a need for more and at the same time, we welcome them with open arms," Lacy said. "They give us a different avenue and a different outlook on a situation."
