Crisis Intervention Team

The mission of the Darien Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team (C.I.T.) is to identify and provide effective and compassionate response to people experiencing a mental health crisis in order to minimize negative outcomes. This is accomplished by properly deploying C.I.T.-trained officers and partnering with area mental health agencies to support those in crisis and their families.

The Darien Police Department formed a Crisis Intervention Team (C.I.T.), with the goal of fostering community partnerships designed to set a standard of excellence with respect to the treatment of individuals with mental illness, improving the quality of life for an entire community. When officers deal with the mentally ill, traditional police training is not necessarily what works best and can often escalate potentially volatile situations. The primary goal for the specially trained officers of the C.I.T. is to promote safety for all involved and to link the person in crisis to services in the community whenever possible.

C.I.T. officers are selected from a list of volunteers from the Patrol Division and selection is organized to train enough officers to cover each shift. Candidates are chosen based on their police skill, compassion, patience and the ability to think creatively.

These officers are trained in:

• Mental illness and substance abuse
• The mental health system
• Safe de-escalation techniques
• Suicide by Cop
• Suicide assessment and prevention
• Children's mental health and trauma
• Mental health and the law
• Excited delirium