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Abstract

Non-police mobile crisis response team (MCR) programs are emerging as alternatives to policing with the potential to decrease interactions between police and marginalized populations. This paper investigates the feasibility of widespread implementation of MCR through a comparative case study of Crisis Assistance Helping Out On The Streets (CAHOOTS), Street Crisis Response Team (SCRT), and Support Team Assisted Response (STAR). The questions this paper seeks to address are: what are the successes and challenges associated with MCR? And, how can the lessons learned from CAHOOTS, STAR, and SCRT inform the establishment, design, and implementation of future MCR programs? To investigate this, interviews were conducted with MCR workers, MCR administrators, and academic experts; I also observed community meetings and relevant webinars. The findings suggest that clear division of responsibilities among city responses, community leadership, community partnerships, and gradually diverting funding from police are major factors affecting the successful implementation of MCR programs.

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