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Changing the Police: To Police or Not To Police : Embedded In Yonkers, as in the rest of the country, a substantial number of police calls involve situations where someone is having a mental health crisis. But are cops the right people to answer those calls? A growing number of cities across the country think the answer might be "No." Some have launched crisis response programs that offer alternatives to the police for non-violent mental health emergencies. But in Yonkers, for now, the police still handle these calls. In this episode, Embedded, along with its series partner, The Marshall Project, looks at what happens when the police are the only option people have. And we ask: when it comes to how much the police "police," is less more?

Embedded

Changing the Police: To Police or Not To Police

season 8, episode 4

Changing the Police: To Police or Not To Police

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Social worker with the FDNY, Morgan Nevins, goes out on a mental health call. Cities across the country are trying alternatives to the police to respond to mental health crises. José A. Alvarado Jr. for NPR hide caption

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José A. Alvarado Jr. for NPR

Social worker with the FDNY, Morgan Nevins, goes out on a mental health call. Cities across the country are trying alternatives to the police to respond to mental health crises.

José A. Alvarado Jr. for NPR

In Yonkers, as in the rest of the country, a substantial number of police calls involve situations where someone is having a mental health crisis. But are cops the right people to answer those calls? A growing number of cities across the country think the answer might be "No." Some have launched crisis response programs that offer alternatives to the police for some non-violent mental health emergencies. But in Yonkers, for now, the police still handle these calls.

In this episode, Embedded, along with its series partner The Marshall Project, looks at what happens when the police are the only option people have. And we ask: when it comes to how much the police "police," is less more?