Georgetown mental health officers see success, ultimately hope for more resources

GEORGETOWN, Texas (KXAN) -- The Georgetown Police Department launched its mental health unit early this year after getting approval from the City Council in January.

As the city continues to grow, so do its 911 calls. According to the Texas Behavioral Health and Justice Center, 911 calls more than tripled from 2019 to 2023.

"Our first goal was to free up our really busy patrol officers," said Officer Keely Wolf, who's one of the leaders of the unit. She said she and her current teammates came up with the idea to create the unit about two years ago.

The team, comprised of four officers, underwent specialized mental health training as outlined by the state.

"Standard officers have a lot of responsibilities throughout the city like crashes, disturbances, etc.," Wolf said. "We are an actual dedicated team that responds to mental health crises and calls about homeless individuals in the city."

Wolf said her team typically spends a longer time on calls than patrol officers do, so they can get to know their patients, help connect them with wraparound services and set them up for long-term success.

In Texas, peace officers are the only professionals who can detain someone having a mental health crisis, Wolf said, so simply having a medical professional on hand and responding to these calls isn't enough.

"We have to be there for the most dangerous times," she said. "So, I think that us having a dedicated team, we can start to create those wraparound services, so we can avoid having to take people in involuntarily and creating a trauma."

Wolf said she's already noticing a need to expand the department's mental health resources.

"Our future goal would be to have more people—have a bigger staff," she said. She also said she hoped to eventually develop a co-response system where paramedics and behavior health specialists would respond alongside police.