The program, which will begin next February, is modeled after a similar system implemented in the town of Eugene, Oregon.
Faced with police violence, some American cities are considering abolishing their municipal police. Others reduce the lifestyle of these units. In Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, and now New York, mental health specialists will soon be likely to step in instead of the police.
Unveiled by Chirlane McCray, wife of Mayor Bill de Blasio, already at the head of a city action plan for mental health, the program “Will treat mental health issues as a health issue and not as a public safety issue”. The city’s 911 (emergency telephone number) received more than 170,000 mental health calls in 2019, indicated CNN, or one call every three minutes or so, and the majority of them were for “People who just needed help”, according to Chirlane McCray.
The authorities say they are:, reports the channel. Police will be sent to assist in cases where the subject possesses a weapon or threatens to use violence..”
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In New York, the program
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