The initial three months of the Louisville Metro Crisis Call Division Program pilot showed clear benefits and underscored the need for providing an acute non-police response for people experiencing non-violent behavioral crisis

Louisville, KY – According to a University of Louisville report provided to Metro Council, beginning with the program pilot’s launch on March 21, 2022, through early May, the CCDP resulted in 119 people receiving crisis support and referrals without the involvement of Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers, relieving those officers of 100 hours of time that might have been spent on the calls, the report said.

The pilot limited itself to a small geographical footprint in a limited time of day so as to better understand how the program will expand in scope. 

The report, prepared by the U of L Commonwealth Institute of Kentucky (CIK) based in the School of Public Health & Information Sciences, found that Louisville Metro Emergency Services, the lead agency in the pilot program’s development, and Seven County Services have “laid the foundation to provide non-police responses to behavioral health crisis,” creating “meaningful paths forward to contribute to public safety in Louisville.”

Mayor Greg Fischer’s budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year includes a nearly $5 million investment for this work as part of his “whole of government, whole of city” approach to public safety.