Maui Police Department’s 18th CIT Graduates

The Maui Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) welcomed 22 new members to its list of trained personnel during a graduation ceremony on Friday. The class, consisting of officers and civilians from the Maui Police Department, Job Corps Maui, Kamehameha School Kapālama, Kamehameha School Maui, and Maui Aids Foundation, completed 40 hours of training earlier during the week.

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.

Since the program first launched in 2013, this is the 18th class to complete the program.  The program was the first of its kind in the state and now consists of 280 individuals.

Participants range in personnel from: the Maui Police Department, Adult Mental Health, Aloha House, Department of Education, Family Life Center, Grand Wailea Resort & Spa, Hawaiʻi Department of Health, Hawaiʻi State Judiciary, Job Corps Maui, Kamehameha School Kapālama, Kamehameha School Maui, KHAKO, Mālama Family Recovery Center, Maui Aids Foundation, Maui Aloha Foundation, Maui Community Correctional Center, 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 Rapid Response, MEO, National Park Service, Pāʻia Youth and Cultural Center, Parent and Children Together (PACT), 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, and Queen Kaʻahumanu Center, Sherriff’s Office, Teran James Young Foundation, and the County of Maui Department of Transportation.

The team was the 10th class trained and the 10th 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, Bo Mahoe, Child and Adult Mental Health Division, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Division, Consumers & Family Panel, Family Life Center, Grand Wailea Resort & Spa, Hale Pono Youth Shelter, Hawaiʻi State Council on Developmental Disabilities, 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, Parents and Children Together (PACT), State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health-Maui District Office, The Queens Medical Center, Tony Lopez, and Waves of Insight.

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