Normal Police Department looking to help officers responding to mental health calls

Posted on January 5, 2022
If interested in joining Normal’s Police Department, you can apply at NPD.org by clicking on the work for NPD link. (WJBC File Photo).

By Jake Fogal

NORMAL- The Normal Police Department is looking to help officers respond to mental health calls. 

Normal Police Spokesman Brad Park said in 2021, the department noticed an uptick in mental health calls that required crisis intervention teams. 

“I think in general we are seeing a shift in how law enforcement has to handle certain situations. We definitely saw an increase in mental health type calls, which all of our officers are crisis intervention team trained. Our officers are finding ways to handle calls that we need to respond to in a very assertive but yet caring way,” Officer Park said.

Another goal for Park and the department in 2022 is to bring on more law enforcement officials. 

Jake Fogal can be reached at [email protected].

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