South Brunswick PD, Rutgers U. Crisis Intervention Effort Completes 1 Year

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ – One year ago, the South Brunswick Police Department embarked on a journey to provide much-needed support to residents going through a crisis.

The police department partnered with Rutgers University for the “ARRIVE Together” program.

ARRIVE Together stands for Alternative Responses to Reduce Instances of Violence and Escalation. The program was spearheaded by the NJ Attorney General’s Office.

Under the program, cops are paired with mental health professionals and they arrive together in an unmarked car during certain mental or behavioral health calls from residents.

Over the past year, Rutgers Behavioral Health mental health screener Michaela Durbin and Officer Ryan Bartunek worked together and responded to 41 calls involving mental health emergencies.

“Their joint efforts focus on de-escalation, immediate mental health evaluations, and connecting individuals with vital resources and into the appropriate care,” the police department said.

Durbin, with her extensive expertise in mental health screening, provides essential on-site assessments, while Bartunek and the Officers on scene maintain a safe environment.

“Together, they have successfully helped many community members in distress, improving outcomes for those in crisis. This partnership has also helped alleviate the use of unnecessary first responder resources, allowing us to direct those resources where they are truly needed,” the police department said.

South Brunswick is among a few NJ towns to successfully implement the program. The police department’s effort was recently lauded by East Brunswick Police Chief Frank LoSacco, who aims to implement the model in his town.

“The Arrive Together Program is an important step toward addressing mental health challenges with the appropriate care and empathy. We are proud to be part of this initiative, which continues to strengthen our commitment to the South Brunswick community,” the police department said.

Last year, the Washington D.C based thinktank Brookings Institution released a favorable report on the ARRIVE Together program saying it could reform policing.

“Analyzing data from 342 police service case calls shows that the ARRIVE Together program demonstrates promising results: reducing both the use of force and arrests and racial disparities in outcomes. Findings also show an increased utilization of social services,” the report said.

“ARRIVE Together has the potential to improve police-community relations, change law enforcement culture, and provide substantive assistance to people suffering from mental health symptoms. This report provides a series of recommendations to streamline data collection and reporting to improve the ARRIVE Together program so it may serve as a model for other states and communities.”

The thinktank analyzed the program between December 2021 and January 2023 and said it showed “favorable results.”

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