DENNIS – The Dennis Police Department has placed a heavy emphasis on mental health services in recent years.
With access to four in-house clinicians, the department is better able to serve a community that is steadily losing the stigma around mental health problems as more individuals seek help.
One of the clinicians is trained to deal with youth and young adults, and another specialized in substance abuse disorders.
“Gone are the days when we show up, tell everybody to be quiet, and then clear off for the next call. It’s usually an officer or two, and maybe a supervisor, we put our heads together and see what we come up with. Sometimes even our clinicians, their primary focus, at this point is outreach and follow-up” said Sergeant Ryan Carr.
Connection with the community and being in-touch with public opinion and scrutiny have helped the department to shape their reaction strategies when going on calls and assisting citizens.
About Maura MacDonald
