Moon-faced Assassin of Joy: Here in Denver, you're now seeing STARs vans everywhere - "Support Team Assisted Response." It's a medic and a social worker, both trained in mental health and addiction support, showing up instead of police. They offer support to homeless folks, people in crisis, and folks in altered states.

Here in Denver, you're now seeing STARs vans everywhere - "Support Team Assisted Response." It's a medic and a social worker, both trained in mental health and addiction support, showing up instead of police. They offer support to homeless folks, people in crisis, and folks in altered states.

"U.S. police departments have gotten smaller—and the violent crime rate is still plummeting. So what is going on?" What's ALWAYS gone on. Cops do not stop crime. They never have. Real "tough on crime" measures are well-funded schools, free daycare, and mental health services. Always have been.

They've handled almost 8000 calls since they started four years ago. Half of those have resulted in referrals to services so folks can get the help they need and deserve. A third have straight up given free rides to places like shelters and food banks. 12% have gotten people medical assistance.

They have the police on speed dial, if they need police help. They haven't. In four years. Not one arrest, not one ticket.

And when I see one on the street, I don't feel the pit of my stomach drop. I just see my city, my community, supporting itself.

AND THEY NEVER PARK IN THE FUCKING BIKE LANES TO STOP FOR COFFEE, MAKING ME PEDDAL MY FAT ASS IN TRAFFIC, SO I THAT'S ALSO A THING THEY'VE GOT GOING FOR THEM OVER THE COPS.

I swear to God, the police are such a weird mix of monstrosity and incredibly petty shittiness. Like, sure, they're the armed enforcers of white capital, they'll be full of domestic abusers, every one is either abusive or enables that abuse, But also, they park in bike lanes and expect discounts.

"I have no idea if the Aurora cop in front of me at the coffee shop is one of the cops who killed Elijah McClain, or just one of the ones who's been repeatedly found passed out drunk in his squad car, or just someone who defends them, but boy is he mad that the cashier is charging him full price."

Actually think this is maybe the most normal combination. Petty Tyrants, who participate in monstrosities as a payment for the right to commit whatever petty shittiness they want.

They also love to park in disabled spots 😀

We won't even discuss their massive pensions and retirement benefits. Compared to normal state employees it's eye popping.

I thought the discounts thing couldn't be real. But then I heard the gym staff complaining about a cop asking for discounts. It's totally absurd! Proactively soliciting discounts as a cop, gfy

That sounds like the mafia.

It's just an incredible program, and one I will gleefully pay for I still love how the pilot for it years ago went so well they quadrupled the budget and immediately fully implemented it at the end.

"Oh, it's a quarter the cost and reduces criminal complaints by a third where it operates?" "Yeah, could we get a thousand of this?"

I am not surprised that they have not needed to bring in police in four years while on a call. It’s amazing how much you can stop a situation from escalating when you are good at deescalation, are not armed and try to bully your way through every situation.

Toronto has one of those too — it’s pretty great! www.toronto.ca/community-pe...

Toronto Community Crisis Servicewww.toronto.ca The Toronto Community Crisis Service is a community-based service which dispatches trained teams of crisis workers to respond to people experiencing a mental health crisis.

I was at the live taping of this podcast with the program director: www.uncommons.ca/p/public-hea...

Public Health and Police Reform with Mohamed Shuriyewww.uncommons.ca On this podcast, Nate is joined by Mohamed Shuriye, Director of Community Safety and Well-being at the City of Toronto.

that program is such a massive success I hope it's adopted across Colorado

Not going to lie, when I see STARS vans I get a little worried that there is an Umbrella facility around.

So glad you're having a good experience with the program! I would like to add for people who feel this method is interested and experimental, it was pioneered by the CAHOOTS program of Eugene, Oregon since 1989. We have lots of data that it works.

I can also add that I'm friends with a severely disabled woman (physically and mentally) who was homeless for 6 years when I met her, and she feels incredibly safe, protected, and helped by CAHOOTS. While the police are somewhere between useless and abusive.

This is great but you should have picked a different acronym, this dude is only smart for a Tyrant, and will NOT be able to tell the difference between you and the guys he actually wants.

idk "I'm a member of STARs!" has been so burned into my brain by MvC2 that it's already got built in positive connections

The second I read the name, I heard it in his voice.

This seems AMAZING! Do you know if 911 calls are sometimes referred to STAR, or do those all go to police dispatch?

Yup - 911 dispatches STAR vans to any relevant call.

Fantastic

This is so cool.

So do the support staff also teach cops that DEAF PEOPLE CAN'T HEAR THEIR COMMANDS? Because that's appparently a thing they need to be trained on.

Okay so I just read through shit, and uhhh. Look I might want to maybe consider moving to Denver if I ever have the money... DAMN why does Denver have to be in a place that gets cold, I hate the cold so much.

Meanwhile, the only thing I hate about Denver is how hot it is. It gets cold enough here for me to close my window maybe two or three nights a year.

This seems very good.

Thanks for the info! This sounds similar to a program we have here in Portland Oregon called Portland Street Response: www.portland.gov/fire/streetr...

Portland Street Responsewww.portland.gov Portland Street Response, a program within Portland Fire & Rescue, assists people experiencing mental health and behavioral health crises. The program is currently responding citywide and you can requ...

They handle people in trouble in this enlightened way in the advanced countries. Here is our barbarian land we mostly just shoot them.

📌

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