419 – Alternative Responses to Calls for Service

I. Purpose

This policy is intended to set guidelines for non-traditional responses to calls for service received by the Harris County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO).

II. Definitions

Alternative Response to Calls for Service: A reaction to a call for service that does not fit within the bounds of traditional law enforcement practices but rather builds on best practices established in fields such as behavioral health and social justice — while still including a partial law enforcement response where appropriate. As a category, alternative responses to calls for service include — but are not limited to — dispatching CIRT or HOT or requesting a response from HART.

Behavioral-Health Crisis: A sudden and intense episode of psychological or emotional distress that disrupts a person’s ability to function to the extent that the person is a danger to themselves or others. Such an episode may be influenced by a variety of factors, including but not limited to mental illness, substance abuse, medical conditions, situational stress, and developmental disabilities.

Clinician and Officer Remote Evaluation (CORE): A collaboration between HCSO and the Harris Center that allows any patrol deputy in the field to contact a clinician at the Harris Center via tablet so that the clinician can remotely assess a person’s behavioral-health condition and needs.

Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD): The system utilized by telecommunications officers to prioritize and record calls for service and efficiently dispatch deputies.

Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT): A co-responder unit pairing a CIT-trained deputy with a masters-level clinician from the Harris Center. These teams respond to situations involving persons who may be experiencing behavioral-health crises and utilize communication techniques aimed at de-escalation.

Crisis Intervention Training (CIT): A scenario-based training course for law enforcement first responders that contains information on the major mental illnesses as well as communication and de-escalation techniques that are proven to help safely resolve situations involving individuals experiencing behavioral-health crises.

Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Harris Center): The state-designated local mental-health authority for Harris County which provides assistance to persons who may suffer from mental illness or developmental disabilities.

Holistic Assistance Response Team Program (HART): A program under Harris County Public Health made up of teams of social welfare, behavioral health, and emergency medical personnel who respond to calls for service requiring face-to-face behavioral-health and social welfare interventions as distinct from law enforcement interventions.

Homeless Outreach Team (HOT): One of several teams at HCSO that proactively seek contact with unhoused persons, not for law enforcement purposes but to inform them of available services and encourage them to take advantage of those services.

III. Policy

HCSO values a holistic approach to its mission and, as a result, is committed to the use of alternative responses to calls for service in all appropriate situations. This does not mean that HCSO intends to supplant traditional law enforcement responses where those are appropriate; instead, it means that HCSO seeks to supplement traditional responses with more modern ones where the facts support such action.

IV. Procedure

1. Alternative Responses that Utilize HCSO Personnel

   The specialized teams within HCSO that may be tasked with providing alternative responses to calls for service — such as CIRT or HOT — are each subject to their own internal rules and procedures under their relevant commanders or directors.

   However, when a response from any of these teams is requested, the relevant team shall be dispatched by telecommunications officers in the Emergency Dispatch Center (EDC) in accordance with the same procedures that the EDC utilizes for traditional law enforcement responses.

2. Alternative Responses that Utilize Outside Non-Law Enforcement Agencies

   Outside personnel are not subject to HCSO written directives and thus cannot be held accountable by HCSO when they act outside the bounds of HCSO written directives. Accordingly, this policy applies to HCSO personnel who request an alternative response that utilizes outside non-law enforcement agencies, such as HART.

   Note: At the time of this policy’s implementation, the only outside non-law enforcement agency regularly contacted by HCSO in the context of alternative responses to calls for service is HART. As a result, HART is referenced by name below, but the following procedures shall apply to HCSO personnel even if they are requesting an alternative response from a different outside non-law enforcement agency.

   1. EDC
      1. Telecommunications officers may request a HART response to a call for service only if the following three things are true:
         1. There is no credible threat of violence or evident display of violent behavior.
         2. There is no known history of violence at the location.
         3. There are no weapons known to be present.
      2. In all other circumstances, telecommunications officers shall follow the same procedures that they would follow for any other call for service.
   2. On-Scene Deputies
      1. Deputies who arrive to a scene may contact the EDC to request a HART response if, after their initial investigation, they believe the following three things to be true:
         1. There is no credible threat of violence or evident display of violent behavior.
         2. There is no known history of violence at the location.
         3. There are no weapons known to be present.
      2. Upon requesting a HART response, a deputy must remain at the scene until HART personnel arrive.
      3. If, at any time prior to the arrival of HART personnel, the deputy believes one or more of the above facts necessary for a HART response have changed, they shall notify the EDC as soon as is practicable.
3. Request for HCSO Assistance from Outside Non-Law Enforcement Agency Conducting Alternative Response
   1. Because HART has independent access to CAD, HART personnel have the ability to identify calls for service where they believe a HART response is appropriate. HART personnel also have the ability to pull those calls for service and dispatch their own response teams without HCSO involvement.

      Note: Unless a telecommunications officer has reviewed a call for service and requested a HART response, there is no guarantee that HCSO personnel have determined that the scene is safe for a HART response.

   2. Regardless of the method by which a HART unit has been dispatched to a scene, HCSO shall respond if the HART unit contacts the EDC to request an HCSO response.

      Note: A HART unit could request an HCSO response for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to the need for an emergency detention order or the emergence of violent threats or behavior at the scene.

   3. In the event that HART requests an HCSO response because of the emergence of violent threats or violent behavior at the scene, EDC shall:
      1. notify a district patrol supervisor of the facts reported by HART,
      2. dispatch an HCSO unit with an increased response priority, and
      3. advise the HART unit to fall back and stage until the HCSO unit arrives on the scene.

Revision

This policy has been revised on the below listed dates:

June 1, 2024

May 7, 2025 (Technical Changes)

February 6, 2026