Residents And St. Pete Police Will Discuss New Community Policing

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — St. Pete Police Department is hosting a virtual discussion program, "Reimagining Community Policing," to inform residents about its newly launched CALL Program.

Community Assistance and Life Liaison (CALL) was approved in January by the St. Petersburg City Council. The purpose of the program is to improve the response to mental illness, poverty, and addiction

After a police-officer involved shooting in the summer of 2020 that authorities said killed a mentally-ill resident in the French Quarter Apartments, law enforcement leaders were led to develop an improved response system to calls pertaining to mentally-ill residents.

Many of the calls for service the police department is asked to respond to during a normal day are better addressed by a human services professional, St. Pete police said on its website. Through CALL, emergency dispatchers will send social workers to certain calls for service including mental health crisis, suicide intervention, truancy, homeless complaints and neighborhood disputes.

The website said the programs goals are:

• Reduce police involvement in non-criminal and non-violent calls for service.
• Reduce repeat calls for service to police from the same person by providing support and longer-term service connections.
• Provide a more compassionate approach to quality of life issues.
• Increase the amount of time our sworn officers can focus on keeping the city safe.

The virtual discussion is scheduled Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at St. Pete Police CALL Program. Participants are required to register on the website.

St. Pete Police Department and Gulf Coast Jewish Family & Community Services have partnered for this program.