The Fond du Lac Police Chief says a new co-response team aims to improve the outcomes of individuals in crisis through de-escalation, diversion from the criminal justice system and connection to appropriate behavioral health services. Collaborating with the Fond du Lac County Department of Community Programs, the Fond du Lac Police Department has embedded a social worker to respond to non-criminal calls for service involving individuals experiencing mental health crisis or substance use issues. Police Chief Aaron Goldstein says social worker Kimberly Miller is equipped with a police radio and has real-time access to the police dispatch log. Goldstein says certain calls for service are matters of health care and should be met with more of a health response, not a criminal justice response. Goldstein says in the first two months, the program has had a number of successful outcomes including a recent check welfare call including an intoxicated individual who was making suicidal comments. In addition to Mueller, officer Brooke Mathes is the Police Department’s new Mental Health and Wellness Police specialist.
