Who should attend: Any jailer or sheriff, their staff members, mental health practitioners or correctional medicine representatives

This training will be led by Crisis Cop Ernie Stevens. He and his partner formed their police department’s first crisis response team in San Antonio, Texas. Since then, they have been featured in several documentaries on HBO that shine a spotlight on the importance of having all justice involved personnel properly trained in crisis intervention strategies to better equip them when they are dealing with someone in a mental health crisis. 

Here’s a link to one of Stevens’ videos: https://youtu.be/We30EJcXoRs?feature=shared

In this training event, Stevens will focus on educating all stakeholders on why crisis intervention training (CIT) should be a staple for both law enforcement and corrections officers and how it helps to reduce the number of use-of-force incidents, which in turn prevents injuries and further trauma from being imposed on the individual in crisis. Stevens also will discuss how having CIT officers help build a culture of officer wellness inside law enforcement and corrections agencies through equipping officers with the tools they need to safely handle someone who is experiencing a mental health crisis. In turn, having the necessary tools to do this helps the officers increase their perceptions of safety and work satisfaction, thus improving their own mental health. 

Biography

Ernest Stevens is the author of the No.1 Best Selling book, Mental Health and De-escalation: A Guide for Law Enforcement Professionals. Ernest Stevens was featured in the Emmy Award winning documentary; “Ernie and Joe: Crisis Cops.” He has also been featured in NBC’s documentary, “A Different Kind of Force.” Ernie was interviewed by ABC’s Byron Pitts and featured on: Officers trained to respond to mental illness calls. Ernie has been featured in more than 28 publications and deemed an expert in Crisis Intervention Training. Ernie was also a contributing author for, Police Mental Barricade. Ernie was a police officer for 28 years, serving 26 of those years with the San Antonio Police Department, where he was a founding member of the Mental Health Unit. He is a graduate of Wayland Baptist University and holds a B.S. degree in Criminal Justice. He is married to his wife, Lisa, who he attended school with since elementary school. He has two incredible children, Reed and April. Ernie continues to help law enforcement agencies around the nation by providing technical assistance and best practice approaches to mental health crisis calls. Ernie serves as the Deputy Division Director at the Council of State Governments Justice Center, overseeing the law enforcement portfolio.

If you need have any questions, please contact Tracey Reed, KACo Jail Consultant at 502-919-1964.