ABOVE: Danville Police Chief Christopher Yates (file photo)
The Danville City Council has approved a Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Danville, the Danville Police Department, and Crosspoint Human Services. This will create a new position stationed at the Police Department, but funded by Crosspoint. The position will be called “Law Enforcement Crisis Worker.”
As Danville Police Chief Christopher Yates explained both during Tuesday (July 7th) evening’s Council meeting and to CIMG afterwards; this is a position that’s been thought about for years, and in the works for the past several months. The idea is that when police officers run into a situation that is not a criminal case, but something where someone needs help and assistance; this new position will offer that kind of “skill and treatment process.”
AUDIO: What this is going to do is give us some added reinforcement and backup, to some of the things that we are not necessarily professionals at; but we have to try to use our professional abilities….
And therefore, the professional abilities of the new Law Enforcement Crisis Worker will ADD TO what the Police Department already does.
AUDIO: Let there be no mistake, this is not replacing law enforcement response. This is just going to be having someone on standby after things are secure. And if it’s not a law enforcement absolute situation, we’ll have someone available on the counseling and professional side of that.
Chief Yates says advertising for the position will be taken care of immediately, and he hopes to have it filled “sooner rather that later.” Chief Yates says he sees the new position as being “challenging, rewarding, and certainly not boring.”
