top of page

The Current System

In New York City some police precincts are served by a pilot, called the Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division (B-HEARD), which uses licensed social workers and EMT's. Everywhere else non-violent mental health crisis calls are automatically responded to by police.

B-HEARD teams operate seven days a week, 16 hours a day (9AM - 1AM) in four of the five boroughs. It is a collaborative program run by the New York City Mayor’s Office of Community Mental Health (OCMH), the FDNY, the NYPD, and the Department of Health (including Health & Hospitals).

​

The goals of the B-HEARD program are to: (1) route 911 mental health calls to a health-centered B-HEARD response whenever appropriate; (2) reduce unnecessary use of police resources; (3) increase connection to community-based care; and (4) reduce unnecessary transport to hospitals.

 

According to OCMH, the program received a total of 96,291 mental health calls within the pilot areas and the program’s hours of operation between Fiscal Years 2022 and 2024. Of these, over 60% were considered “ineligible” for a B-HEARD response by OCMH. However, this number includes not only calls that were assessed and determined ineligible, but all calls that could not be triaged for some reason, which included cases when an FDNY EMS operator was not available to take the call.​

Despite New York City’s investment in B-HEARD, too many New Yorkers are still receiving a police response when they are experiencing a mental health crisis. We need changes to make it a more effective and compassionate intervention. 

bottom of page