The Irvine City Council unanimously voted to alter the way the city handles police calls involving mental health, addiction or homelessness, starting with a new program that other cities in Orange County are partnering with to reduce violence in the community.

Through a new approach, Irvine will enroll in a partnership with Be Well OC, a non-profit organization that provides mental health support, and establish a Mobile Crisis Response Team.

On Tuesday, Nov. 9, the Irvine City Council unanimously voted to enter into a $968,580 contract with Be Well OC in order to implement the Mobile Crisis Response Team.

As the program begins, the Mobile Crisis Response Team will operate for 12 hours per day – between 10:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Irvine Vice Mayor Tammy Kim said addressing the mental health crisis has become a “very complex situation,” especially considering language barriers in different areas of the county.

“I’m really excited about this – this is one step in a very complex situation dealing with our mental health crisis,” she said.

Currently, in response to all calls regarding mental health issues, violence or threats of suicide, the Irvine Police Department will dispatch patrol officers, who are trained to use de-escalation communication techniques, according to Irvine Police Commander Dave Klug.

In addition to police officers, IPD has established the Irvine Mental Health Outreach Team, which assigns Mental Health Officers to perform case follow-ups for mental health-related incidents in the community.

Irvine’s Mobile Crisis Response Team will work in tandem with the Irvine Police Department, in a way that replaces police officers with specifically trained medical staff for non-emergency calls.

The Orange-based Be Well OC opened a 60,000 square-foot 93-bed facility earlier this year. Countywide, both the Garden Grove and Huntington Beach police departments have implemented the Mobile Crisis Response program from Be Well OC.

In the wake of protests following the death of George Floyd last summer, the topic of defunding the police echoed at social justice rallies nationwide.

Councilmember Larry Agran said he was in support of the program, adding that he hopes this may address concerns from the community. Agran said he recalls protesters in Irvine calling for the city to defund the police during the protest in June 2020. Agran said he hopes this reformation of policies can showcase the city’s ability to make a change, and is looking forward to the results.

“I’m hoping that in a matter of three to six months after initiation [of the Mobile Crisis Response program] we’ll be able to get some report back — and demonstrate to those who are clamoring for change — or to defund the police — in response to some significant problem,” he said. “Many of us were saying we want to reform our response to these issues — we don’t necessarily want to defund anything, we want to fund the right things.”

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