LASD has a long standing tradition in innovative programs to help curb the Mental Illness crisis. In November 1993, LASD was the first law enforcement agency to collaborate with the Department of Mental Health (DMH) and formed a full time Mental Evaluation Team (MET). Since the initial inception of five teams, the MET concept of co-response has grown to its current 27 team configuration and operates around the clock. The current plan is to expand to 34 teams by the end of 2019.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Mental Evaluation Team (LASD MET) provides crisis assessment, intervention, and targeted case management services to diffuse potentially violent situations, prepare appropriate documentation to assist in the placement of persons with mental illness in acute inpatient psychiatric facilities, and/or to link these individuals to outpatient mental health services or appropriate community resources. The goal of this co-response model is to reduce incidents with use of force, reduce hospitalizations, and avoid unnecessary incarcerations of severely mentally ill citizens.

In 2018, the LASD MET Triage Desk began helping patrol deputies in the field on a full time basis with consultations and with providing mental health resources to help patrol divert patients away from incarceration when Mental Evaluation Teams were not available to respond. MET Triage Desk centrally dispatches and helps expedite responses of MET units to support patrol deputies responding to mental health crises Countywide.

Another added responsibility MET has assumed is the lead agency for Project Lifesaver Tracker program that involves 82 agencies in the Los Angeles County area. Project Lifesaver is a tracking device that can be worn by persons with certain disabilities (i.e. dementia, autism), and tracked if they leave their residences which often times they do. Since the inception of the program in 2018 LASD has been involved in (7) searches with a very high success rate. MET is also working with the Veterans Administration and aided them in creating a Veterans Mental Evaluation Team component (VMET) at the Long Beach Veterans administration.

The last few years MET has rapidly grown and provides periodic updates to the Civilian Oversight Commission, Board of Supervisor’s Justice Deputies and Office of Diversion and Re-entry. MET recently published it’s 2018 annual report which will be provided to our many stakeholders.

For the full report please visit: http://lasd.org/pdf/2018_Annual_Report_on_MET_(Final).pdf