The Fifth Branch: Convincing the Cops

How do you convince police officers that it makes sense to send unarmed mental health workers to some 911 calls?

Guests:

Patrice Andrews, Police Chief, Durham Police Department

Ryan Smith, Director, Durham Department of Community Safety

Sgt. Dan Leeder, Durham Police Department

Abena Bediako, Clinical Manager, Durham Department of Community Safety

Christie Thompson, Staff Writer, The Marshall Project

EMS, Fire, Police and the 911 Call Center make up the existing four branches of the public safety system. A special series from Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project explores how a city radically changes its response to people in crisis, by creating a fifth branch. 

Nearly half of the country’s 50 largest cities - including San Francisco, New York, Houston, Chicago - have launched programs to send unarmed responders to 911 calls historically handled by cops. In the process creating a new generation of first responders made up of clinicians, EMTs and unarmed mental health workers all responding to people who struggle with addiction, homelessness and mental illness. 

To understand this work we head to Durham, North Carolina, which has - in the face of skepticism and downright opposition - built one of the most comprehensive programs in the country.

How did Durham pull off what so many cities have struggled to do? Tradeoffs and The Marshall Project examine this groundbreaking work and the challenges it’s facing, both in Durham and around the country.

Learn more about this series, which first ran in July, 2024, on our website.

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