Free Communication Cards: A Vital Tool for Law Enforcement During Mental Health Crises

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 are being utilized.