Social workers to be embedded with Minneapolis police precincts
MINNEAPOLIS – Social workers are coming to the Minneapolis Police Department.
It's part of a program the city council approved Thursday to help MPD respond to mental health and addiction issues.
A Hennepin County social worker will be embedded in each of the five precincts, working in tandem with officers, starting in December.
"I think it's wonderful," said Adesola Oni with Hennepin County Criminal Justice Behavioral Health. "The police-embedded social workers are part of a larger system strategy to support mental health needs in our communities."
Oni says the social workers will begin with following up on cases referred to them by officers. They'll reach out to people officers encounter on calls and get them help.
"The social workers will prevent repeat calls," Oni said. "We bring a culturally-informed expertise and specialized resources based on individual needs."
The program's already in place in more than a dozen suburban departments, including in Brooklyn Park.
BPPD Inspector Elliot Faust says they intend to have social workers responding to calls on their own by the end of the year.
"When a 911 call comes in, the dispatcher will vet through whether or not the police really need to go," Faust said.
He admits that mental health calls are not in most officers' wheelhouse, but they're becoming more and more common.
"It's getting those folks connected to the help that has been the challenge for many, many years," he said. "I think this is the best way that we've found to make that connection."
In 2020, when social workers first embedded with BPPD, they made contact with people in 405 cases and connected them with services.
"They have a different perspective that they're bringing to the work, which is different from what law enforcement officers are also doing," Oni said. "And both are needed, however it's perhaps needed separately."
The county and MPD are now hiring for the five positions.