The City of Rochester has officially launched its Person in Crisis (PIC) team, a corps of social workers which will be available to respond to mental health and substance abuse calls that would otherwise be fielded by police.
The PIC Team consists of 14 full- and part-time workers who will respond in teams of two to crisis calls around the clock, every day of the week. The decision whether to send the team without police, or in tandem with officers, will be made by 911 and 211 dispatchers, according to the nature of the call. Generally, the team would respond alone if a behavioral issue was at play, no crime was being committed and no weapon was involved.