STREETSBORO, Ohio — Portage County law enforcement is working to improve its de-escalation tactics in times of crisis. It comes at a time when county law enforcement said it’s responding to more mental health calls daily. However, a simple piece of paper makes communication and helping others much easier.
Policing was much different when Streetsboro Officer Joshua Bartholomew entered the force 15 years ago.
“You get in young; you assume you're running and gunning and chasing down bad guys all the time,” said Bartholomew. “The vast majority of what I do now is talk.”
Bartholomew is not only a patrol officer but also Portage County's Crisis Team Intervention Coordinator. The training is also known as CIT. He is now teaching first responders across the county de-escalation communication skills.
“It's talking people down, it's talking to neighbors trying to calm them down, it's family members trying to calm them down just trying to mediate situations,” Bartholomew added.
Skills Bartholomew said need to be taught as more mental health crisis calls are ringing.
“I have been here 15 years, it has gone up drastically from when I started here,” said Bartholomew. “A lot of mental health we respond to and that's why I feel CIT is so important to have.”
To help responding officers get on the same page with their residents during a crisis, new "communication cards" have been created in partnership with the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County. Residents themselves or legal guardians can fill out this Google form. It asks for name, date of birth, and contact information, but also diagnoses, the best method of communication, whether that be through an iPad or icons, ways to calm down, and things that can be upsetting.
“For example if somebody is autistic, something that may calm them down is squeezing things with their hands,” said Karyn Kravetz, associate director of the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County. “If an officer didn't know that and just saw a child perhaps who is autistic do something like that, they may think that's being aggressive. When in fact, that might actually be calming them down.”
These cards are meant for people of all ages with mental health or medical conditions.
“I can't tell you the number of people elderly typically with dementia that walk away and we have no idea where they live or no way to get ahold of family,” said Bartholomew. “It's that type of person this id card was meant to help, someone non verbal unable to communicate with us.”
Above all, Bartholomew said the cards help officers empathize and de-escalate accordingly so everyone remains safe.
“We go out all the time not really knowing what we are walking into or who we are dealing with, so when we arrive on scene it's just trying to put the pieces together,” Bartholomew added.
So far, over 20 residents have signed up for cards.
Once the online form is filled out, the communication card with a lanyard will be mailed to the specific individual. Bartholomew encourages people with communication cards to come by their area police stations or the Portage County Sheriff's Office to introduce themselves and meet officers and deputies directly to establish a relationship in a non-tense situation.
CLICK HERE to fill out the identification card form.
