Denver’s STAR Program Offers Alternative to Police Response

by Aidan Trump ‘21

 

This past summer, the United States  saw millions of people from all walks of life stand in solidarity with the Black community after George Floyd and numerous other black people were killed at the hands of the police. Protests were held, demonstrators marched through the streets, and calls for reform were made. “Defund the police” became a familiar phrase, not meant to abolish the police but rather to divert funding away from the police and to allocate it to other essential services. 

Denver has been at the forefront of the defunding movement, and the evaluation of the Support Team Assistance Response (STAR) pilot program’s first six months has been released. The program’s evaluation specified that “STAR provides person-centric mobile crisis response to community members who are experiencing problems related to mental health, depression, poverty, homelessness, and/or substance abuse issues.”  

The STAR team is dispatched through three distinct pathways. One: 911 operators identify and flag incoming calls that meet the STAR’s criteria and directly dispatch the unit. Two: emergency personnel on scene independently request STAR to respond. Three: STAR self-initiates an in-field response when the unit comes across an issue. 

This program acts as an alternative to law enforcement. The STAR team consists of mental health clinicians and paramedics who patrol the city in a non-threatening transit van. The STAR team is only able to respond to situations that fall under approved nature codes. The codes approved for the pilot are as follows: assist, intoxicated person, suicidal series, welfare check, indecent exposure, trespass unwanted person, and syringe disposal. The STAR team is not assigned to situations if Denver 911 operators believe there is evidence of “criminal activity, disturbance, weapons, threats, violence, injuries, or serious medical needs,” as stated in the evaluation. According to an article in USA Today, approximately 68% of people contacted were experiencing homelessness, and there were mental health concerns in 61% of cases – largely schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorder – with 33% of people having co-occurring conditions”

In the program’s first six months of operation, STAR responded to 748 incidents which otherwise may have resulted in large numbers of arrests if handled by police. According to the evaluation, the STAR program could potentially reduce 911 calls responded to by police by 2.8 percent, thus allowing for the police to respond to incidents to which they are better suited. 

Even with crisis intervention training which aims to teach officers how to deescalate potentially dangerous situations, deadly altercations still occur. Dennis Slocumb of the international union of police associations understands that the training that police officers receive pales in comparison to that of trained health professionals. “Our training barely scratches the surface,” said Slocumb to The Gazette.

For programs like STAR to succeed there will need to be a strong relationship with the police. Thankfully early signs show cooperation, and on-scene uniformed responders made up 34.8 percent of STAR’s calls for service, amounting to 260 of the incidents the team responded to. 

Nevertheless, the STAR program faces challenges. Funding will play a major role in whether or not the STAR program is successful in the long term. Previously the pay for the healthcare workers in programs similar to STAR has been notoriously low, leading many to move on in search of better pay. As reported by the STAR program’s evaluation, “there is a significant need for available supplies to support members of our community. The STAR team quickly identified the need to be able to provide cleaning products, food, clothing, and blankets to individuals they encountered. The ability of the team to provide these items was enhanced by donations … in future budget considerations, in addition to increasing access to services, funding should be identified to provide these items.” 

Ultimately, even with the early success of the STAR program, there is still room for improvement. The people have spoken, they want reform, and other municipal police departments should take note of the STAR program, and look to implement similar policies.