Edina, Richfield launch joint crisis response alternative to police
The Edina City Council heard details about a new partnership with Richfield to respond to mental health and behavioral crises without relying solely on police or hospital transport. The program aims to fill a gap in emergency services by offering a third option for situations where traditional law enforcement or medical intervention may not be the best solution.
During a June 29 meeting, the council received an overview of the Richfield-Edina Joint Response Venture, a collaborative program designed to handle emergency calls that don't require traditional police or fire response. The initiative monitors police and fire communications to identify situations where alternative intervention could be more effective.
According to a speaker at the meeting, the current system leaves limited options: "The choices that are available are either that person stays in the community that person is taken into custody by the police or they're transported to a hospital by EMS or fire that's not always the solution or the best solution." The joint venture creates a fourth pathway focused on long-term safety planning and mental health support.
A key aspect of the program is its recognition that complex social and behavioral issues cannot be resolved quickly. As one speaker explained, "These problems don't develop over 30 minutes they develop over days or weeks so sometimes it'll take extra time to come up with a solution." This philosophy prioritizes addressing root causes rather than simply clearing emergency scenes.
The council received the program overview as an information item, meaning no vote was required. The presentation highlighted how the venture extends crisis intervention beyond the initial emergency response, with teams available to provide follow-up support and planning that can take hours or longer to resolve underlying issues. The program represents a growing trend among Minnesota cities to develop alternatives to traditional emergency response for situations involving mental health crises, homelessness, and behavioral issues.
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Program Overview: Richfield-Edina Joint Response Venture
The speaker explains how the joint venture monitors police and fire talk groups to intervene in situations where traditional enforcement or medical transport may not be the optimal solution. Emphasis is placed on the time required to resolve complex social or behavioral issues, often extending hours beyond the initial police response.
The choices that are available are either that person stays in the community that person is taken into custody by the police or they're transported to a hospital by EMS or fire that's not always the solution or the best solution.
These problems don't develop over 30 minutes they develop over days or weeks so sometimes it'll take extra time to come up with a solution.
Source document
[0:00] when there's an incident or an issue in
[0:02] the community and uh police and fire and
[0:04] EMS respond uh the choices that are
[0:07] available are either that person stays
[0:10] in the community that person is taken
[0:12] into custody by the police or they're
[0:14] transported to a hospital by EMS or fire
[0:17] that's not always the solution or the
[0:21] best solution the way we respond is we
[0:24] monitor the uh the police talk groups of
[0:26] the police channels and the fire
[0:27] channels for Richfield and Dina since
[0:30] we're a joint venture emergency calls in
[0:33] general we're typically seeing people
[0:36] often times on their worst day
a couple
[0:38] calls that kind of come to mind where
[0:40] we've stayed hours after officers left
[0:43] just to try and get this person to a
[0:45] safe place or come up with a safety plan
[0:47] that works for them these problems don't
[0:49] develop over 30 minutes they develop
[0:52] over days or weeks so sometimes it'll
[0:54] take extra time to come up with a
[0:56] solution
and maybe you don't need
[0:58] anything that day maybe you just need
[1:00] you know somebody to talk to a little
[1:01] bit and then we can follow up the next
[1:03] day i do think we do make a difference
[1:06] it may not be super obvious but you it's
[1:09] like if you take a problem away do you
[1:11] know that problem's there
[1:14] [Music]
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