Hunterdon County hosts first Veterans Response Team-Crisis Intervention training for local law enforcement
HUNTERDON COUNTY, NJ – Hunterdon County Prosecutor Renée M. Robeson and Hunterdon County Sheriff Frederick W. Brown recently had the honor of welcoming nearly 40 participants from Hunterdon, Warren, and Somerset Counties to the county’s first Veterans Response Team (VRT)—Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training held at Veterans Haven North.
This milestone event was part of the New Jersey Veterans Response Team program, a statewide initiative designed to provide specialized training for law enforcement officers and first responders on how to respond to veterans in crisis. All participants in this week’s training had previously completed the CIT-NJ program and are veterans of the United States Military, bringing unique perspectives to the training.
The CIT training is based on an innovative international model that emphasizes collaboration between law enforcement and community mental healthcare services. The program helps first responders better understand and manage encounters with individuals experiencing a psychiatric crisis. New Jersey’s CIT program is a county-based initiative involving local professionals who work together to improve both the law enforcement and mental health system’s responses to individuals in crisis.
A key component of this training was the ARRIVE Together program, presented by Chief of Detectives Timothy J. Drew of the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office. This initiative, a collaborative effort between Hunterdon County law enforcement agencies, the New Jersey State Police, and Hunterdon Health Behavioral Health Services, aims to improve the response to behavioral health crisis calls and provide follow-up support.
The training was coordinated by the Hunterdon County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hunterdon County Sheriff’s Office, and Veterans Haven North, with contributions from a range of organizations including the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey, NJ Vet2Vet, Soldier On, and the NJ Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
Retired Chief Edward C. Dobleman, CIT NJ Director for Legacy Treatment Services, along with a team of instructors, led the training. The instructors included veterans’ services providers, law enforcement personnel, and behavioral health professionals from Hunterdon Health Behavioral Health, among others.
