NCJ Number
75490
Journal
Municipal Innovations Issue: 30 Dated: (Summer 1979) Pages: complete issue
Date Published
1979
Length
4 pages
Annotation
The People Assistance Team (PAT) of Vancouver, Washington, is described. It is a team of social workers and police officers which handles most of the incidents requiring social crisis intervention rather than police action.
Abstract
The PAT was established in 1976 after it was observed that a large proportion of police time was spent on calls which required a social service response, and that many of those calls were repeats. The team was set up to respond to calls relating to domestic disputes, neighborhood conflicts, juvenile problems, alcohol abuse, emotional problems, and other similar calls. The three social workers on the PAT team were screened for both experience and compatibility with the police philosophy. Turnover on the team has been high with problems of burnout and uneasy integration into the police community. About one third of a PAT member's time is spend on patrol. The dispatcher screens incoming calls and calls a PAT member if the call falls into one of the described categories. The PAT member is usually accompanied by a police officer who is free to leave as soon as safety is assured. Intervention techniques include calming the parties, making appointments to see the participants in the PAT office, referring to another community agency for extensive treatment, and finding emergency shelter in cases of rape, spouse abuse or child abuse. Other PAT responsibilities include helping to effect police outreach to the general citizenry and teaching individual police officers how to deal with human crises. PAT members have also been available to personally counsel police officers with their own problems. Two assessments by the city of Vancouver Manager Review Team and the International City Management Association are generally favorable of the PAT, but offer cautions for cities contemplating a PAT of their own.