Bay Minette PD sees success in first days of AltaPointe iPad program – fox10tv.com

BAY MINETTE, Ala. (WALA) – Bay Minette Police Department has joined a mental health crisis response program that gives officers instant access to clinicians through iPads while responding to calls.
AltaPointe Health partnered with Mobile Police Department three years ago to launch the iPad program. Dr. Cindy Gipson said around 72% of calls have led to people going to the behavioral crisis center for treatment.
“Some of those people would have been arrested otherwise or possibly sent to a hospital so it’s getting people to the treatment they need when they need it quickly,” Gipson said.
The program has expanded to almost 10 different agencies. Bay Minette Police joined this week.
“We have a serious issue with mentally ill and challenged persons wandering our streets and there was just no place for us to put them and most times they don’t belong in the criminal justice system. They’re not criminal, they’re ill,” Bay Minette Police Chief James Rosier said.
Bay Minette Police finished training this week and has already directed two people to treatment instead of jail.
“We were expecting to put them in the car and use them once or twice a month and we’ve had them deployed now two days and in two days we’ve helped people in need find proper services and not send them to a place that was no help at all,” Rosier said.
AltaPointe said expanding the program to Bay Minette brings help to a rural area that typically has limited access to mental health resources.
“It’s sometimes more difficult to staff rural areas but this is a force multiplier for us it gets a clinician anywhere and everywhere,” Gipson said.
“It finally gives us a place to take those people, and I can’t stress it enough, these people that don’t belong in jail, they belong in facilities where they can receive services in help,” Rosier said.
AltaPointe Health said Gulf Shores Police will join the program next week.
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