AUSTIN — More than 30 percent of the inmate population at the Travis County Jail has some form of mental illness, according to the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.  

“The jail is the wrong place for mental health to be treated,” Kristen Dark, public information officer for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, said. “It’s the most expensive place for it to happen and people in a jail setting do not progress. They regress.” 

Twenty-six officers from various law enforcement agencies participated in a 40-hour mental health certification course hosted by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. The department partnered with other mental health groups and behavioral health experts to host the training. On Friday, officers took part in scenario-based training, getting feedback for how they approached the situation they were placed in for class. 

“We’re providing information and training on various factors related to the specific mental health diagnosis, but also giving them techniques that they can incorporate specifically – verbal de-escalation, ways to build rapport and engage with individuals in the community that are experiencing a psychiatric crisis specific to the situation that they might be running into,” said Marisa Aguilar, practice manager for the Mobile Crisis Outreach Team, or MCOT, at Integral Care.

MCOT is a team of mental health professionals trained to help adults and kids dealing with a mental health crisis and can meet anywhere someone needs help. The team also provides 90 days of follow-up support and works with law enforcement and EMS to provide mental health crisis support. 

According to Integral Care, law enforcement and EMS requested MCOT 3,244 times last year. Law enforcement partners include the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, Austin Police Department, Texas DPS, Austin Community College District Police and Central Booking. Out of all their referrals, nearly 99 percent of the people they worked with received care instead of being placed behind bars. 

Dark says six of the 26 officers were school resource officers and all the school resource officers under Travis County Sheriff’s Office are now certified. Integral Care provided insight on medication issues, diagnoses, risk factors, suicide intervention and de-escalation techniques for school resource officers and what to look for when directly working with kids.  

Through this training, the sheriff’s office hopes officers will find the best approach to help people within their communities with mental illness, such as through outpatient care. 

“A lot of times people commit crimes when they’re in a mental health crisis and have no idea they’re committing a crime,” Dark said.