Visiting Speaker: Jonathan Davis, Department of Economics, University of Oregon.
Host: Mary Kate Batistich
Presentation Title:
Can mental health crisis-response teams support better policing? Evidence from CAHOOTS, with Sam Norris, Jadon Schmitt, Chelsea Strickland, and Yotam Shem-Tov.
Abstract:
This paper studies the use of mobile crisis teams---a non-uniformed pair consisting of a mental health worker and a medic---as either a substitute or complement to a traditional police unit responding to 911 calls involving mental illness, homelessness, addiction, and other non-dangerous situations. We find that a series of expansions of the CAHOOTS program to new areas and times of the day in Eugene, Oregon reduced the likelihood a 911 call results in an arrest, and had the long-term benefit of reducing the number of follow-up 911 calls from the same address. However, we also find that CAHOOTS is a substitute for the police for a relatively small share of calls, and many of the benefits arise when CAHOOTS and the police both respond to the same call. After the initial expansions, this pattern intensifies; additional CAHOOTS capacity is mostly directed towards responding to calls that otherwise would have gone unanswered. We conclude that crisis response teams are most effective as a complement rather than a substitute to the police.