MPD’s Crisis Intervention Team graduates 20 new members

Twenty new members have completed 20 hours of training and joined the ranks of the Maui Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team. This is the 16th class to complete the program launched as the first of its kind in 2013.

Officially graduating Oct. 11, the class consisted of officers, recruits and civilians from the Maui Police Department, Diamond Parking, Family Life Center, Goodwill Hawaii, Grand Wailea Resort and Spa, Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, Malama Family Recovery Center, Maui Adult Protective and Community Services, Maui Community Correctional Center, Maui County Council, Maui Family Support Services, Maui County Office of the Mayor, National Park Services, and the University of Hawaiʻi Maui College.

The program consists of 236 individuals ranging in personnel from the Maui Police Department, Adult Mental Health, Department of Education, Family Life Center, Hawaiʻi Department of Health, Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Centers, Malama Family Recovery Center, Maui Aids Foundation, Maui Aloha Foundation, Maui Community Correctional Center officers, Maui Community Mental Health Center, Maui Fire Department, Maui Humane Society, Maui Memorial Medical Center, Maui Police Department’s Multi-Cultural Advisory Counsel, Maui Prosecutor’s Office, Maui Economic Opportunity, National Park Service, Pāʻia Youth and Cultural Center, Project Vision, Roberts Hawaiʻi, Salvation Army, security staff from Fairmont Kea Lani, Four Season Resorts Maui at Wailea, Honua Kai Resort and Spa, Montage, Puamana Community Association, Queen Ka’ahumanu Center, Sheriff’s Office, Teran James Young Foundation, and the County of Maui Department of Transportation.

The team was the eighth class trained and the eighth class in the state to start since the COVID-19 pandemic under the guidance of Alicia Rodriguez, law enforcement clinical psychologist of Waves of Insight.

Guest agencies included instructors and representatives from Aloha House, Aloha Psychological Services, Bo Mahoe, Child and Adult Mental Health Division, Consumers & Family Panel, Family Life Center, Hale Pono Youth Shelter, Hawaiʻi State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Maui Adult Day Care Center, Maui Aids Foundation, Maui Community Mental Health Center, Maui Memorial Medical Center Emergency Room and Molokini Unit, Maui Police Department – CIT Members, Mental Health America, Nicole Edwards, State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health – Maui District Office, The Queens Medical Center, Tony Lopez, and Waves of Insight.

The hands-on training addresses how to interact with individuals potentially suffering from a mental illness or experiencing an emotional crisis. It focuses on de-escalating a situation before reaching a point of violence or self-harm while ensuring the individuals receive the appropriate response and care they need.

The CIT training is part of the Maui Police Department’s Critical Outreach and Response through Education unit. It works with community agencies on issues that include houseless individuals and those potentially suffering from mental illness.