Skip to Content Accessibility Information

Maryland Carroll County Health Department

Text Size: A A A

Behavioral Health: Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)                  

Carroll County has joined the CIT initiative as initially established in Memphis, TN, after the shooting of a man with a serious mental illness by a police officer. A collaboration between the Memphis Police Department, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the University of TN Medical School, the University of Memphis, and mental health providers sought to improve how both law enforcement and the community can respond to a mental health crisis.

As of August 2022, Carroll County has 88 CIT trained officers and 5 dispatchers.  There is at least one CIT trained officer in every municipal police agency in Carroll County including MSP, Carroll Community College, and McDaniel College.

What exactly can CIT trained officers do? CIT trained officers responding to a situation involving a person with a mental illness have been given intensive training to recognize symptoms, defuse situations, and provide assistance. This way of response allows situations to be handled in a manner that reduces arrest, trauma, injury, or even death during mental health crisis calls and promotes linking people with mental illnesses to mental health professionals and programs designed to coordinate diversion from jail.

How to obtain services

If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis and need to call 911, you should ask that a CIT trained officer respond to your call. Additionally, please provide the following information:

  • Your name
  • Address the police should come to
  • List any available weapons
  • Name and age of the person you are calling for
  • Diagnosis
  • Drug use (current or past)
  • Medications (on or off?)
  • Prior violent behavior
  • Past psychosis
  • Details about delusions or hallucinations
  • Triggers
  • Things that have helped in the past