Why the Co-Response Model Matters
Co-response brings clinical expertise directly into the field, supporting better outcomes for individuals, families, officers, and communities.
Partner police departments consistently report fewer unnecessary emergency department transports; reduction in repeat crisis calls; increased officer confidence in responding to behavioral health situations; and stronger collaboration and trust between police and the community.
At a Glance
- 55+ emergency department diversions monthly
- 80% of arrests diverted per month on average
- 13+ police partnerships
- Embedded clinicians across Massachusetts
- Thousands of community contacts annually
- Seven-day-a-week clinical consultation support
Community Impact
- Diverts individuals from unnecessary emergency department use
- Connects people to community-based services
- Supports individuals and families during behavioral health crises
- Improves access to follow-up care after police contact
System Impact
- Reduces unnecessary use of emergency systems
- Supports jail diversion and community-based stabilization
- Improves coordination across police, crisis, outpatient, and community services
- Helps identify service gaps and community needs
Police Partner Impact
- Provides officers with immediate clinical consultation
- Supports safer, more effective responses to behavioral health calls
- Reduces pressure on officers to manage complex clinical situations alone
- Strengthens collaboration between law enforcement and behavioral health providers
What Our Police Partners Say
Having clinicians embedded with us at Watertown PD has been a huge game-changer for our police officers and for members of the community, as well. The clinicians are truly valued members of the team. I've said many times that the co-response clinicians at Watertown PD do some of the most important work in our department and some of the most important work in our city.
I highly recommend the Advocates co-response program. It has shown dramatic benefits for the town of Natick and for our officers. It has strengthened our ability to support and follow up with community members. Co-response has simply been a homerun.
Through co-response, we’ve grown our officers’ set of tools for navigating different situations. It has been a huge benefit. Seeing the relief in community members’ eyes when we have clinical resources to provide has been very gratifying.
The Advocates program is a gold standard for clinician programs in law enforcement, and having a co-response clinician on our team has been an invaluable resource. If you asked anyone on our staff how they feel about co-response, they’d wonder how we managed prior to having a clinician on-board.
