Oregon Public Broadcasting

Portland city officials have new recommendations that they hope will improve interactions between police and people with mental illness.

Commissioners Dan Saltzman and Amanda Fritz joined Chief Rosie Sizer Thursday to outline their plans.

Fritz is a former psychiatric nurse. She’s also responsible for the department that handles emergency communications. Fritz says the new recommendations are important, but not a perfect fix.

Amanda Fritz:  “There isn’t a single problem we’re facing here, there isn’t a single solution – as much as we’d all like there to be a single solution, be it money, or a particular program.”

The plans call for more small group discussions between police and those they encounter regularly on the streets.

A crisis intervention council for the Police Bureau will be beefed up. The Bureau is also launching a pilot project that will team a mental health worker with a  patrol car.

Saltzman and Fritz re-affirmed that the city will co-fund a center for people in crisis, but who aren’t troubled enough to be admitted to a hospital.

The Police Bureau has been criticized for its interactions with people suffering from mental illness.  The latest was a lethal shooting last month.