19 Graduate with 10th Cohort of Maui Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team

The Maui Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team welcomed 19 new members to its list of trained personnel during a graduation ceremony on Friday.

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 class, consisting of officers and dispatch personnel from the Maui Police Department, the County of Maui Department of Transportation, Roberts Hawaiʻi, and security staff from Honua Kai Resort and Spa, and Four Seasons Resort Maui, completed 40 hours of training earlier during the week.

This is the 10th class to complete the program since the program was launched in 2013. The program was the first-of-its-kind in the state, and now consists of 146 individuals ranging in personnel from the Maui Police Department; Sherriff’s Office, Maui Fire Department, Maui Memorial Medical Center security staff, Maui Prosecutor’s Office, Maui Community Correctional Center officers, Maui Community Mental Health Center, National Park Service, Family Life Center, the County of Maui Department of Transportation, Roberts Hawaiʻi, security staff from Queen Kaʻahumanu Center, Fairmont Kea Lani, Honua Kai Resort and Spa, Puamana Community Association, and Four Season Resorts Maui.

The team was the second class trained and second class in the state to start since the COVID-19 Pandemic under the guidance of Dr. Alicia Rodriguez, Law Enforcement Clinical Psychologist of Waves of Insight.

Guest instructors included representatives from Aloha House, Aloha Psychological Services, Consumers & Family Panel, Family Life Center, Hale O Lanakila “Club House”; Hawaiʻi State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Ka Hale A Ke Ola Homeless Resource Center, Maui Community Mental Health Center, Maui Police Department – CIT Members, Mental Health America, Mental Health Kōkua, Maui Memorial Medical Center Emergency Room and Molokini Unit, NAMI, Roberts Hawaiʻi, Salvation Army, The Queens Medical Center, and VA Pacific Islands, Maui CBOC.

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