19 graduate from Maui Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team training

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

Members of the graduating class completed 40 hours of training earlier during the week. The graduates include officers and dispatch personnel from the Maui Police Department, employees with the County of Maui Department of Transportation, Roberts Hawaiʻi, Department of Education, Family Life Center, Ka Hale A Ke Ola, Salvation Army, Maui Aloha Foundation, and security staff from Honua Kai Resort and Spa .

This was the 11th class to complete the program since it first launched in 2013.  The program was the first-of-its-kind in the state.

It now consists of 165 individuals ranging in personnel from the Maui Police Department, Sherriff’s Office, Maui Fire Department, Maui Memorial Medical Center security staff, Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, 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, Department of Education, Ka Hale A Ke Ola, Salvation Army, Maui Aloha Foundation, 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 third class trained and third 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 agencies included instructors and representatives from Aloha House, Aloha Psychological Services, Child and Adult Mental Health Division, Consumers & Family Panel, Family Life Center, Hale Pono Youth Center, Hale O Lanakila “Club House”; Hawaiʻi State Council on Developmental Disabilities, Honua Kai Resort and Spa, 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, Prosecutor’s Office, Roberts Hawaiʻi, State of Hawaiʻi, Department of Health, Maui District Office, The Queens Medical Center, and VA Pacific Islands, Maui CBOC.

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 that works with community agencies on issues that include houseless individuals and those potentially suffering from mental illness.