Omaha to expand mental health therapist program for police

Officials say they’re expanding a pilot program that stationed a mental health therapist in an Omaha Police precinct.

Now they say they’re expanding that program to all precincts in the city over the next few years.

The primary goal:  Decrease the instances of officers taking people into custody who are struggling  with mental health issues.

Their hope is to connect people to services they require and reduce the number of times officers must respond to people and their mental health crises.

The therapists are also known ans co-responders.

They will head to calls that may involve people suffering from mental illnesses.

Once officers say the situation is safe, the co-responders can talk to people and determine what help they need.