WE ARE NOCAP PHOENIX
Neighborhood-Organized Crisis Assistance Program (NOCAP) Phoenix
An initiative to create a first responder department specializing in behaviorial health, substance abuse calls, and dispatches impacting the Unhoused Community. “Your crisis is not a crime.”
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OUR LETTER TO MAYOR GALLEGO AND THE PHOENIX CITY COUNCIL
Dear Mayor Gallego and Councilmembers,
We are writing to you as the Neighborhood-Organized Crisis Assistance Program (NOCAP) coalition to propose utilizing $20 million from the 2020-21 budget to establish an official first responder department for noncriminal and nonviolent dispatches. This program’s focus will mainly center around mental health, substance abuse, wellness checks, and unsheltered concerns. The development and inception of this new first responder service should draw heavily on the public’s input and engagement from the moment it is authorized…
DEMAND PHOENIX ESTABLISH A CRISIS ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Phoenix Police Department (PPD) currently responds to at least 60,000 calls per year related to mental and behavioral health crises. In 2020 alone, PPD shot and killed 4 people who were experiencing a mental health crisis. Police responding to behavioral and mental health calls — whether it is related to addiction, homelessness, or domestic disputes — is not the right response. These calls take officers away from investigating serious crimes and officers lack the intensive training needed to help people in these crises. We need mental health professionals and social workers to respond to these calls going forward. Any program should include the following:
Funding should be diverted from the Phoenix Police Department budget
Integration into the 911 system, so anyone calling can request mental health first responders
Function independent of Phoenix Police Department, ICE, or any other department
Within 3 years, the crisis assistance program should be under a mental health or public health department
First responders are trained in de-escalation and identifying mental and behavioral health problems
First responders are unarmed and will not arrest anyone or share information with law enforcement
Strong community oversight throughout the development of the program