A “co-response” model of policing, in which officers respond to calls for mental or behavioral health crises with a public health professional, has begun a test period in Somerville, a city spokesperson said Friday.
The idea was among recommendations for major public safety reforms released in February 2025 by the city’s Public Safety for All Task Force, Civilian Oversight Task Force and the Anti-Violence Working Group. “The implementation of the co-response pilot is a direct response to our community’s recommendation,” police chief Shumeane Benford said.
The co-responders are on the staff of a behavioral health unit within the Somerville Police Department called Community Outreach Help & Recovery. They will be on duty to respond with officers during two four-hour blocks each week – dispatched with an officer for 911 calls involving mental health, substance use, welfare checks and a few other kinds of conflicts or disturbances, a city spokesperson said. When a co-responder is not on duty, officers will continue to rely on their own crisis intervention and deescalation training, but a co-responder may follow up.
A public health professional can also be requested by officers after they evaluate a scene, police said.
Data collected from the test’s limited hours will help inform a potential permanent and expanded co-response program, officials said.
“The launch of this pilot is the result of years of intense community and cross-departmental work that identified a need and sought to address it,” mayor Jake Wilson said. “I’m excited to move this to the next phase swiftly and smartly. The point here is to test, learn, get our responders familiar with new systems, and then deliver more fully.”
Neighboring Cambridge has set up co-response as well as an alternative response program within its police department. The city also has an independent team called Heart that responds unarmed to certain crises. It was organized by residents, but works with police at times. The programs emerged in the past few years, largely inspired by the Black Lives Matter moment coming out of the Covid pandemic.
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