Mental health calls up sharply

As serious mental health calls to police and social service groups rise, law-enforcement agencies are investing in extra training to help officers untangle situations ranging from erratic behavior to drug overdoses to suicide attempts.

Anoka and Dakota counties have seen their mental health 911 calls, including suicides and attempts, increase by more than 25 percent in the past two years, to more than 2,000 in Anoka and about 1,730 in Dakota. Some police departments, including those in Eagan, Hastings, Burnsville and Buffalo, have increased officer training to better handle such calls or have plans to do so.

There's no clear explanation for the increase, but theories include unemployment and financial stress, the struggles of returning military veterans and lack of access to mental health services, said Daniel Reidenberg, a psychologist and executive director of Suicide Awareness Voices of Education, a nonprofit in Bloomington.

"There is still a lot of apprehension about the economy," said Eagan Police Chief Jim McDonald. "Almost everyone knows someone who lost a job or a house or was in the service overseas. ... We are taking steps to make sure our officers are prepared for those situations." Eagan's mental health calls have increased more than 30 percent since 2007.

Other factors also may be involved. Jon Roesler, a state Health Department epidemiology supervisor, said greater access to powerful anti-depressants and painkillers may contribute to higher suicide rates and more drug overdose calls.

Reidenberg also faults social changes. "Families are more isolated by technology -- not communicating face to face, but so much online," he said. "We are becoming a far more disconnected society."

The numbers are harder to pin down in the big cities. St. Paul police don't specifically track mental health calls. Minneapolis handles roughly 2,500 of the more serious calls per year, but information on whether that number has increased is not available. And it's hard to compare numbers across departments, some of which track or categorize calls differently.

"It's an alternative to rushing in and solving the problem. You step in and take time to talk to the person to conquer the anxiety they are going through or problems and come to a rational solution," Paulos said. "Nine out of 10 times, no force is used. You gain ... their confidence."

Hennepin County has 24-hour crisis phone lines and two teams that handle mental health calls. Those calls have risen about 20 percent a year since 2006, said Kay Pitkin, county mental health services director. She said suicidal thoughts or acts account for about a third of about 11,000 crisis calls handled last year.

Minneapolis holds about one crisis-intervention class a year for officers, said Sgt. Steve Wickelgren, a department counselor who is also clinical director of the state Crisis Intervention Training Officers Association. The training features actors who play mentally ill people whom police officers practice working with, he said.

In Wright County, Buffalo police have seen a near doubling of mental health incidents over the past five years, to 94 calls in 2011, said Chief Mitch Weinzetl. "The across-the-board increase in acute mental health issues is troubling," said Weinzetl, who is planning mental health-assessment training for his officers. He noted an increase in cases involving acts or talk about suicide.

In 2010, the most recent data available, both the state and the seven-county metro area had the highest age-adjusted suicide rates seen since the mid-1990s, according to the state Health Department. The 2010 metro rate was 10.3 suicides per 100,000 residents, below the state rate of 11.1

Anoka County saw its age-adjusted suicide rate go from 8.1 in 2004 to 14.9 in 2010, the highest rate among metro area counties. The state record was about 17 per 100,000 people during the Great Depression in the 1930s, Roeseler noted.

Anoka's high rate was partly due to a handful of student suicides that prompted the Anoka Hennepin School District to offer a 24-hour student mental health help line last summer, said Cindy Cesare, interim director of the county mental health department. She said the county has held forums in area high schools to talk about depression, suicide and bullying.

Burnsville police have seen their mental health calls double since 2008, to more than 300 last year, said Chief Bob Hawkins. His department also has undergone extra crisis training over the past five years.

"Our focus," he said, "is to make sure we keep people healthy and safe."

Jim Adams • 952-746-3283

increase in mental health 911 calls in Anoka and Dakota counties in the past two years

30 percent