Psychiatric News (4/22) reports a study found that “embedding behavioral health workers into 911 call centers in a Texas community prevented hundreds of emergency detentions and arrests over five years.” Researchers observed that “between December 2019 and February 2025, operators at the Texas call center transferred 16,264 calls that involved behavioral health crises without criminal or violent components to clinicians, while 4,365 similarly eligible calls were not transferred due to clinician unavailability.” They found that “calls transferred to clinicians resulted in fewer emergency detentions (2.4%) and less time spent on the scene by officers (26 minutes) compared with calls that were not directly transferred to a clinician (4.8% and 51 minutes, respectively). After adjusting for call timing and location, calls that were directly transferred to clinicians were 43% less likely to result in emergency detentions and 35% less likely to result in arrests.” The study was published in Psychiatric Services.
Related Links:
— “Diverting 911 Calls to Behavioral Health Workers Reduces Arrests, Psychiatric News, April 22, 2026