Page 76 - 2022 A Year in Review Final

changes or updates that may impact the community, and to strategize to proactively

develop initiatives with our residents to improve their overall quality of life. Please note

that some of these meetings were spurred by specific crime trends in the area. These

open meetings have provided the means for our agency to improve communication

between the residents and business owners of the City of Cranston and their police

department. Most of the complaints that the department continues to receive from

members of the general public revolve around quality-of-life issues, specifically traffic

and property crime issues. The OCO receives many of these complaints via the

constituent affairs office at Cranston City Hall. Captain Justin Dutra serves as the

direct contact between city hall constituent affairs and the police department.

Crisis Intervention Gateway Mental Health/CCAP Partnership

In March of 2022, we publicly announced that the department increased Officer

training in mental health awareness and entered new partnerships with mental health

service and community providers to enhance the department's response and follow-up

on mental health-related calls. Due to additional stressors within communities across

the country, such as the pandemic and challenging economic times, we were

responding to increased mental health calls. A few years ago, all our Officers

completed "Mental Health First Aid" training, designed to help you in the field

recognize the signs and symptoms of mental illnesses and people who may be

experiencing a mental health crisis. You also received training in de-escalation

techniques and how to interact with persons with mental illness and special

populations such as individuals with autism or mental developmental challenges.

Some cities have chosen alternative programs that remove police involvement from

specific calls and divert them directly to social service providers. Instead, we decided

to build upon our long-standing and trusted relationship within our community and

76
Cranston Police Department Year in Review 2022