District Attorney's Office Mental Health Awareness Training Program

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey has led an historic countywide effort to improve the way people with mental illness interact with the criminal justice system. As a major component of this initiative, the District Attorney’s Office created a 16-hour Mental Health Awareness Training Program for 45 local law enforcement agencies that serve Los Angeles County. The training program is part of the comprehensive criminal justice reform efforts diverting people with mental illness from incarceration to mental health treatment. The goal is to demonstrate effective de-escalation techniques and reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness. Officers gain a better understanding of what an individual in a mental health crisis experiences and how to recognize the symptoms of mental illness through a panel presentation by individuals and family members who describe living with mental illness. In February 2016, the District Attorney’s Criminal Justice Institute began presenting the two-day training twice a month at locations throughout the county. Within the first year of implementation, more than 650 first responders were trained. In 2017, the program entered its second year, with 23 trainings scheduled throughout Los Angeles County.