Dennis, Police Chief – A Village Approach to Suicide Prevention

By Dennis Burns, Former Palo Alto Police Chief

The police department plays a vital role in any community's comprehensive and intergrated response to suicide prevention. During our suicide cluster(s) the City of Palo Alto and the community came together in order to address this mental health crisis. All parties adopted the "it takes a village" approach to the suicide cluster. 

The police department played a key role in the effort to contain the contagion. The Police Department took an active role in prevention and response activities as we felt we had an obligation to protect our youth from themselves. Nearly all of the Palo Alto PD officers and dispatchers have received specialized training in de-escalation, crisis negotiations and Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training. This training provides the officers and dispatchers with information about how to identify and respond to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. The PAPD staff received this training as line level officers had to accurately assess if someone was a danger to themselves. PAPD was involved in implementing the "Track Watch" program that utilized security guards at key locations to deter suicides. The Police Department implemented video technology with AI technology to identify individuals that were loitering around locations where others had taken their lives. This technology alerted officers who were able to intervene before the subject attempted suicide. The police department also lobbied to construct fencing around areas that had seen multiple suicides.

During the suicide clusters, a number of individuals posted their intent to commit suicide on social media. The Police Department would receive phone calls from friends of the individual threatening suicide. In response to these calls, the police department would concentrate all of their resources on locating the individual and ensuring they received the care they needed. Over the course of the cluster, the Police Department successfully intercepted a number of young people who were intending to commit suicide. A representative from the local law enforcement should be included to ensure their perspective is considered and to support other individuals and groups. Police Department personnel can leverage resources in order to implement harm reduction strategies and access support from other City departments.

The Police Department can also provide key stakeholders with relevant non-confidential information. In the event of a suicide, the Police Department coordinated the notification of the next of kin and ensured that the victim's family received support. The Police Department worked closely with the school district to ensure they were informed of the deaths of any of their students