Superior Police Department Is Looking For Candidate To Fill New Position On The Force

The Superior Police Department is stepping up in a big way by making a new position on the force to help better serve members of the community. The new position is being called a "Coordinated Response Specialist" who will be responsible to help coordinate efforts with mental health, drug treatment and shelter providers.

Mayor Jim Paine explained the position to WDIO saying:

This is a new position with a new set of professional skills that we're bringing into modern policing. And that's in recognition of the fact that sometimes public health, public safety, quality of life has threatened by long-term issues like drug abuse- or substance abuse in general, addiction, domestic violence, chronic mental health issues, poverty, homelessness.

The ideal candidate will be someone who has experience in dealing with crisis situations and residents who may be experiencing addiction or mental health issues. Many times we hear of incidents where officers come upon someone in distress and because of that the situation may escalate.

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Although many officers are sympathetic to the needs of people in crisis this person on the force will be able to assist in not only maybe helping during the crisis, but help to find resources for that individual to get help. This is a huge boost for not only the people of Superior, but also the officers out on the street to alleviate any potential incidents that could be triggered by the officers presence.

I would hope that other police forces around the country will follow suit as this is a huge problem in our society. Often times a persons behavior in interacting with officers could be deescalated by knowing that other issues are at play causing this persons behavior. Hopefully with this person on the force they can help keep citizens safe from themselves and future issues with law enforcement.