PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Pasco County Sheriff’s Office are in the works of forming a new unit to serve citizens with mental health issues.
- Pasco County forms mental health team
- Police will partner with mental health providers
- More details to be given at a press conference
- More Pasco County headlines
Sheriff Chris Nocco will share more details at a press conference on Monday at 11:30 a.m in the Media Room located at 8700 Citizen Drive New Port Richey.
The Mental Health and Threat Assessment Team is a joint partnership between the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and community mental health care providers.
The “MHTAT” for short, will communicate and work with the local behavioral health community to provide tailored, long-term programs for citizens in need.
The average ratio to citizens in Florida to mental health providers is 700:1, and in Pasco County that ratio nearly doubles at 1,460:1.
The Pasco Sheriff's Office responded to 174,772 calls for service in 2018. Of those calls for service, 19,283 were related to mental health issues, or 11 percent of the total calls.
This included 3,436 Baker Act reports and 2,162 suicide or suicide attempts. From these reports, deputies interacted with 2,933 people, with 503 people having more than one contact.
The new unit will include a lieutenant, a sergeant, three clinical social workers, and six deputies.
More information will be given at the press conference.