Program deploys licensed behavioral health clinicians who respond with Boulder Police Department officers on calls involving a behavioral health crisis.

The City of Boulder has released the Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT) program 2022-2023 annual report which highlights successes and challenges of the program from Jan. 1, 2022, through Dec. 31, 2023.

CIRT is a co-response team composed of licensed behavioral health clinicians and clinical case managers from the city’s Housing and Human Services Department. CIRT clinicians respond to calls involving a behavioral health crisis with Boulder Police Department officers to provide de-escalation, assessment and referral. CIRT case managers follow up after the crisis to address needs that may have contributed to the crisis by providing referrals to community-based care, coordinating existing services, resolving barriers to care, and helping to access benefits.

“We are pleased to share this update on CIRT with the community,” said Wendy Schwartz, Human Services Senior Manager for the City of Boulder. “It’s an opportunity to continue the discussion on the important impact CIRT has in difficult situations, as well as some of the broader challenges our city and region face in mental health and substance misuse.”

The report summarizes CIRT program operations during 2022 and 2023. Key highlights include:

  • CIRT had 4,119 interactions with community members.
  • The two most common concerns involved in CIRT responses were suicidal ideation followed by substance use/intoxication.
  • Following best practices, community members were stabilized in the community in more than two-thirds of responses.
  • CIRT demand closely aligns with program service hours. During weekend periods in 2022-2023, demand sometimes exceeded service available. In 2024, the city increased CIRT weekend staffing and will continue to analyze the match of service hours to service demand.
  • Two in five community members receiving a CIRT response are already engaged in behavioral health services. However, most of these people were not well connected with those services or required more help than they were receiving.
  • Arrests occurred in 2.5% of CIRT responses, and use of force by police occurred in 0.3% of responses.

Some findings in the CIRT 2022-2023 report suggest opportunities for improved prevention and intervention in broader community services. The City of Boulder is currently a partner in the Boulder County Behavioral Health Roadmap and can utilize findings like these to better direct its efforts in strategy and funding.

In December 2023, the city launched a complementary alternative response program, Community Assistance Response and Engagement (CARE), that responds to calls that do not present safety or serious medical concerns and may be more appropriately handled by medical and behavioral health professionals. CARE data are not included in this report and will be included in future CARE-specific reporting.

To learn more about CIRT and read the full report, visit the city’s website.

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