Oxford, Mississippi Police Department Completes Mental Illness Pledge

The Oxford Police Department is pleased to announce that the department has completed a pledge, which focuses on improving their response to those living with mental illness in our community.

The pledge is part of an initiative called the One Mind Campaign started by the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). To join the One Mind Campaign, law enforcement agencies must pledge to implement four promising practices in a 12-36 month period to improve the outcome of interactions between police officers and persons in crisis or impacted by mental illness.

In completing the One Mind Pledge, the Oxford Police Department established a sustainable partnership with a local mental health organization, developed and implemented a model policy to address officers’ interactions with those affected by mental illness, trained and certified their officers in Mental Health First Aid, with several members of the department completing the more intensive Crisis Intervention Team Training (CIT).

The 40-hour Crisis Intervention curriculum is internationally recognized and designed to train a team of specialized officers to respond to calls that involve individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, behavioral issues, or even someone with communicative challenges.

“Communicare is delighted to partner with the Oxford Police Department in their One Mind Campaign initiative. We are grateful for our already close relationship with OPD and look forward to our continued relationship.  Communicare has provided training to the Oxford Police Department staff in mental health first aid, opioid overdose prevention, and suicide prevention to name a few. We have always been encouraged by the sensitivity and empathy shown by the police officers in Oxford. The implementation of this initiative shows the level of care that Oxford Police Department has for the citizens of this community,” Melody Mardis, Assistant Director Communicare.

“With the One Mind Campaign and the additional training our officers have received, we have enhanced our ability to better serve the Oxford community and have improved the way we respond to situations that require communicative strategies, de-escalation and crisis intervention,” said Jeff McCutchen, Chief of Police.