Texas’ Austin Police Department Sees Mental Health Calls Increase

Circle Connections: New Products & Services Austin police responded to more mental health related calls in 2012 and said they need more mental health officers. At a recent Public Safety Commission meeting, Sergeant Michael King said the Austin Police Department (APD) responded to 9,832 mental-health related calls in 2012 and roughly 12 percent of those calls involved the homeless population. APD only has six full-time crisis intervention officers and one sergeant. 144 additional officers are trained to respond to mental health calls. The department is asking for more mental health officers, but said the real issue is . . .