--- title: Diverting 911 Calls to Behavioral Health Workers Reduces Arrests description: Embedding behavioral health workers into 911 call centers in a Texas community prevented hundreds of emergency detentions and arrests over five years. image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/dispatcher_emergency_iStock-2210543516.jpg --- 4/22/26 11:49 AM # Diverting 911 Calls to Behavioral Health Workers Reduces Arrests ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/diverting-911-calls-to-behavioral-health-workers-reduces-arrests) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/diverting-911-calls-to-behavioral-health-workers-reduces-arrests) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/diverting-911-calls-to-behavioral-health-workers-reduces-arrests) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/diverting-911-calls-to-behavioral-health-workers-reduces-arrests) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/diverting-911-calls-to-behavioral-health-workers-reduces-arrests) ![dispatcher_emergency_iStock-2210543516](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/dispatcher_emergency_iStock-2210543516.jpg?width=220&height=116&name=dispatcher_emergency_iStock-2210543516.jpg)Embedding behavioral health workers into 911 call centers in a Texas community prevented hundreds of emergency detentions and arrests over five years, according to a study published [today](https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.20250322) in *Psychiatric Services*.   **Why It’s Relevant** Communities across the country are exploring ways to integrate behavioral health specialists into the 911 process—both to improve outcomes for individuals who are experiencing a mental health crisis and to better allocate scarce public safety resources.   Evaluations of such diversion programs have mainly focused on those that provide direct support to the officers on scene. Less data is available on programs that provide upstream support. One such program in Austin and Travis County, Texas, embedded behavioral health clinicians trained in deescalation and safety planning into a 911 call center.   **By the Numbers** - Between December 2019 and February 2025, operators at the Texas call center transferred 16,264 calls that involved behavioral health crises without criminal or violent components to clinicians, while 4,365 similarly eligible calls were not transferred due to clinician unavailability. - Calls transferred to clinicians resulted in **fewer emergency detentions (2.4%) and less time spent on the scene by officers (26 minutes)** compared with calls that were not directly transferred to a clinician (4.8% and 51 minutes, respectively). - After adjusting for call timing and location, calls that were directly transferred to clinicians were **43% less likely to result in emergency detentions** **and** **35% less likely to result in arrests.** - Over five years, **approximately 7,000 hours of officer time** were averted from the scene of behavioral health-related incidents.   **The Other Side** While the control calls were considered clinician-eligible, the researchers couldn’t confirm similarity between the two groups due to lack of data on the type of problems reported in the clinician-diverted calls. There were also no race/ethnicity breakdowns available.   **Takeaway Message** The researchers emphasized how much time the program saved officers from responding to nonviolent, noncriminal incidents related to behavioral health, thereby allowing them to focus on higher-acuity public safety issues. Highlighting the benefits experienced across systems—such as by law enforcement officers—might help secure long-term funding for similar behavioral health programs, which are typically underfunded.   **Related Information** “[Street Crisis Teams in San Francisco Replace Police for 911 Psychiatric Calls](https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2021.2.19)”   **Source** Todd A. Olmstead, et al. The impact of embedding behavioral health professionals in a 911 call center. *Psychiatric Services*. Published online April 22, 2026. doi: 10.1176/appi.ps.20250322.   (Image: Getty Images/iStock/Jacob Wackerhausen)   [police](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/police), [law enforcement](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/law-enforcement), [arrests](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/arrests), [detention](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/detention), [911 call centers](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/911-call-centers), [deescalation](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/deescalation), [public safety](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/public-safety), [detentions](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/detentions) ## Related Posts [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/dutch_ambulance_iStock-1309617463-Jun-24-2025-10-38-07-1451-PM.jpg?height=200&name=dutch_ambulance_iStock-1309617463-Jun-24-2025-10-38-07-1451-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/05/study-finds-psychiatric-ambulance.html) ## [Study Finds ‘Psychiatric Ambulance’ Provides Safe and Uncoercive Transport of Individuals in Crisis](https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/05/study-finds-psychiatric-ambulance.html) 5/29/24 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/05/study-finds-psychiatric-ambulance.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/emergency_iStock_538726573-Jun-24-2025-05-24-36-3822-PM.jpg?height=200&name=emergency_iStock_538726573-Jun-24-2025-05-24-36-3822-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2022/09/black-children-less-likely-to-report.html) ## [Black Children Less Likely to Report Suicidal Thoughts in Emergency Room, Study Suggests](https://alert.psychnews.org/2022/09/black-children-less-likely-to-report.html) 9/27/22 12:00 AM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2022/09/black-children-less-likely-to-report.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/police_driving_iStock-2201950029.jpg?height=200&name=police_driving_iStock-2201950029.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/assertive-community-treatment-with-police-involvement-leads-to-fewer-overall-police-encounters) ## [Assertive Community Treatment With Police Involvement Leads to Fewer Overall Police Encounters](https://alert.psychnews.org/assertive-community-treatment-with-police-involvement-leads-to-fewer-overall-police-encounters) 10/31/25 1:35 PM [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/assertive-community-treatment-with-police-involvement-leads-to-fewer-overall-police-encounters) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2026-04-22T15:49:52.594Z", "datePublished" : "2026-04-22T15:49:52.000Z", "headline" : "Diverting 911 Calls to Behavioral Health Workers Reduces Arrests", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/dispatcher_emergency_iStock-2210543516.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/diverting-911-calls-to-behavioral-health-workers-reduces-arrests", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```