Sheriff: Mental Health Unit is making a difference

PORT CHARLOTTE — Charlotte County Sheriffs Office officials are crediting its mental health unit for reducing the strain on both law enforcement and health care services.

Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell and Capt. John Heck spoke to commissioners Tuesday about the county's Integrated Response for Intervention and Support team.

"This is one of the most successful programs we've had," Prummell said.

The team consists of members from CCSO, Charlotte County Fire & EMS, and Charlotte Behavioral Healthcare, who provide guidance and direction to resources for people in crisis who have regular contact with emergency services.

According to the presentation, the IRIS team has recorded 1,498 diversions and follow-up calls in 2024 so far.

By contrast, diversions and follow-ups reached 2,266 last year and recorded 1,043 total in 2022.

Those calls, Heck said, represented residents who received help finding resources to help them treat mental health challenges instead of being arrested, being committed by a Baker Act or being held on a Marchman Act order.

At the same time, mental health calls to both IRIS and through CCSO Road Patrol is projected to be on the decline.

Total mental health calls reached 3,792 in 2022 and increased to more than 5,400 in 2023, following a low point of 540 in 2021.

So far in 2024, the IRIS team has received 1,386 mental health calls directly and indirectly.

Heck noted the IRIS team, that launched in 2021, was getting its data together in the early months of the program.

IRIS response to calls can range from counseling at-risk people after suicide attempts, checking in on elderly people targeted by scams, death notifications and check-ins for patients to ensure that they are continuing mental health treatment.

"They are looking for help, or for someone to talk to," Heck said.

The work IRIS does, he added, allows regular patrol deputies to redeploy and focus on actual law enforcement duties more suited to their training.

Prummell attributed the IRIS team as a major factor in diverting people to treatment programs rather than the county jail, which is currently at roughly 60% capacity.

CCSO estimated that IRIS would need roughly $1.9 million in funding over the following fiscal year. Members are currently seeking that funding through state grants, though they anticipate asking for at least some county support in the near future.

County commissioners were largely supportive of the program's continuation, praising Prummell and Sgt. Craig Brandon for their role in advocating for IRIS' creation.

Commissioner Joe Tiseo cited studies that show the costs of keeping an inmate detained, running between $60 to $120 per day, depending on where in the country they are incarcerated.

With the reduced jail population cited by Prummell, Tiseo said that IRIS was already showing a positive effect for both the people they helped directly and the county as a whole.

"I think it’s that ‘out of the box’ thinking that other people need to look towards," he said during the meeting.

Chairman Bill Truex concurred, especially when Prummell noted Charlotte County Jail was down to just 11 inmates with active mental health cases out of nearly 600.

"Those are great numbers," he said. "That's a huge reduction."