Peers Not Police
Our #PeersNotPolice campaign seeks to create a true non-police, mental health crisis response system in New York City by making changes to the Behavioral Health Emergency Response Division (B-HEARD) program.
Our vision utilizes peers – similar to the CAHOOTS (Oregon), STAR (Colorado), and Gerstein Centre (Toronto, Canada) systems.
What is B-HEARD?
The Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD) is a New York City pilot program meant to respond to eligible mental health crisis calls with trained LMSW's and EMT's rather than police officers.
It is currently jointly operated by New York City Health and Hospitals (H+H) and the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) with oversight from the Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health (OCMH).
How is B-HEARD dispatched?
B-HEARD is dispatched through the NYPD run 911 system also called the Computer- Aided Dispatch (CAD).
At the New York City Council’s September 2024 B-HEARD Oversight Hearing, the NYPD testified that 911 dispatchers receive only one day of training on mental health issues during their ten weeks of full training to receive assignments.
What calls are eligible for B-HEARD?
B-HEARD eligibility is dictated by the CAD system which assesses whether there is violence, weapons, or suicidal behavior involved, and if none of these conditions are present, the call is typically routed to B-HEARD. Individuals cannot request a B-HEARD team and mental health calls are assigned a low response priority within the EMS system.
B-HEARD operates in 31 of New York City’s 78 police precincts, covering about 40% of the city’s population. The program only operates in these areas from 9AM - 1AM. All calls outside of eligible times and areas are responded to with police.
How is B-HEARD embedded within NYPD?
Dispatch decisions for B-HEARD are integrated into New York City’s police-run 911 system.