By Andre Mouchard
The Orange County Register
SANTA ANA, Calif. 鈥� As of this month, if you call 911 and want help from the Orange County Sheriff鈥檚 Department, you might be asked to take a brief quiz:
鈥淚s the person you鈥檙e calling about in immediate danger or creating a safety hazard?鈥�
鈥淎re they committing a crime?鈥�
鈥淎re there weapons involved?鈥�
Answering yes or no to these and a few similar questions will determine if a deputy or a mental health expert will respond to the call. The new screening process is part of a broader, coordinated push from the Sheriff鈥檚 Department and the Orange County Health Care Agency to focus police work on traditional crime and social work on helping people who are in crisis.
In one sense, the dual-track response system is just the latest step in a long-running effort by the county鈥檚 biggest police agency, and county health officials, to segregate criminal issues and social issues in ways that could benefit all members of the community. Several years ago, , which includes three sergeants, a dozen or more deputies and up to 40 civilian mental health workers who respond, in tandem, to calls related to mental illness. It鈥檚 unclear if that bureau will expand or respond to more calls, but it鈥檚 not expected to be reduced as a result of the new 911-based screening process.
鈥淚 think, to the public, this could seem like a big change. But we鈥檝e always worked closely with the Sheriff鈥檚 Department,鈥� said Veronica Kelley, who heads the OC Health Care Agency鈥檚 Behavioral Health Division, which now includes the newly created OC Links, a unit that connects people in crisis to counselors or other service providers.
Kelley, who noted people from her agency worked with sheriff鈥檚 deputies to create the 911 鈥渄ecision tree鈥� screening questions, said county mental health workers have embedded with police agencies for several years to help reduce violence by or against law enforcement.
鈥淭he instinct for everyone, when something happens, is to call 911, and have the cops come first. But they鈥檙e not (mental health) clinicians,鈥� Kelley said.
鈥淭hey get training, they learn how to de-escalate. But as we鈥檝e seen throughout the country, sometimes interaction involving someone in mental crisis and police can result in violence,鈥� she added.
鈥淭hat impacts individuals, on both sides.鈥�
Crazy-quilt response
However the new screening program affects people in crisis, or deputy safety, it also reflects the increasingly divergent ways communities and law enforcement agencies throughout California are dealing with the unhoused and mentally ill.
Since 2021, an independent nonprofit that provides mental health experts to help officers when they鈥檙e working with the homeless and the mentally ill. And, nationally, many of the nation鈥檚 biggest police forces 鈥� in New York, Philadelphia and Dallas, among others 鈥� have beefed up staff and training to reduce violence involving the mentally ill without necessarily arresting and incarcerating more people.
Yet, amidst all of that, a counter-trend has emerged. In the past 18 months several cities that had reputations for responding to social crimes with either little police response or none at all, have changed their tune.
In San Francisco 鈥� widely viewed as the most liberal city in America 鈥� the Police Department late last year directed officers to enforce laws against camping or sleeping in public, at least when the people involved have some access to a shelter bed.
Since late 2021, police in some parts of Los Angeles have stepped up enforcement of 41.18, an ordinance that says people can be fined or even jailed for sitting, lying, sleeping or setting up personal property on city-owned sidewalks.
And last year, in Santa Ana, crimes that many view as synonymous with homelessness and mental illness, including public intoxication, exposure and disturbing the peace.
鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 a new policy, per se. It was just a directive to stop neglecting certain types of criminal behavior,鈥� said Santa Ana Councilmember Phil Bacerra, an urban planner who was elected in 2019 after telling voters he鈥檇 urge a tougher stance on how the city handles homelessness issues.
鈥淗omelessness is not a crime. We鈥檙e not medieval England,鈥� Bacerra said. 鈥淏ut a crime is a crime. And in Santa Ana all crimes are subject to law enforcement.鈥�
Bacerra said the city鈥檚 approach involves both stick and carrot. While , for example, they also are urged to offer people ways to get sober or to find shelter.
鈥淭his community is compassionate. We have more shelter beds and services than anybody in the county. But a lot of people have been frustrated, too.鈥�
Still, it鈥檚 unclear how 鈥� or if 鈥� the city鈥檚 tougher stance has affected homelessness. Bacerra said a recent census of the homeless, the every-two-years Point in Time count, will tell if the numbers are going up or down in Santa Ana.
鈥淣obody thinks we can arrest ourselves out of a problem,鈥� Bacerra said. 鈥淏ut there鈥檚 nuance to this. And, ultimately, public safety is paramount.鈥�
Less contact, less conflict
That new 911 quiz could affect a lot of lives.
The Sheriff鈥檚 Department provides police services for 13 cities and unincorporated Orange County, covering roughly a quarter of the county鈥檚 3.1 million residents. Every year, dispatchers gets about 10,000 calls related to mental health issues and the unhoused.
While it鈥檚 too early to know how many of those calls will be diverted to county health workers, experts of all political stripes say keeping police focused on traditional crime and is more effective for residents and cheaper for taxpayers.
鈥淚 think it鈥檒l be potentially lifesaving and also save the county money,鈥� said Eve Garrow, a senior policy analyst with the ACLU of Southern California who focuses on homeless issues.
鈥淚f law enforcement is not required, then it should not be deployed.鈥�
That said, the screening isn鈥檛 expected to immediately reduce the number of deputies sent to help people seeking it.
Answering 鈥測es鈥� to any of the half dozen questions posed by dispatchers will result in a deputy being sent to a scene. Likewise, any call sent to OC Link 鈥� where civilian mental health workers start the process of figuring out how to respond and help the caller 鈥� can be sent back to the Sheriff鈥檚 Department if the county health worker feel that鈥檚 warranted. Even the caller鈥檚 tone of voice can be cited by a dispatcher as a reason for requesting a law enforcement response.
鈥淒eputies will still be involved at the same level,鈥� said Sheriff Department spokesman Sgt. Frank Gonzalez.
鈥淥ur deputies are trained to handle, and welcome, all kinds of calls and situations.鈥�
But if the new screening can direct deputies away from non-criminal issues and toward other issues connected to safety, Gonzalez suggested a goal will be met.
鈥淥ur basic mission is to protect the community,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l go down any appropriate path, or any direction, to do that.鈥�
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