Ontario County Sheriff's Office Uses iPads to Connect People in Mental Health Crisis to Clinicians, Reducing Hospital Visits

ONTARIO COUNTY, N.Y. — Ontario County sheriff's deputies are using a new approach to help people in mental health crisis.

“A lot of people just need a little extra attention, they just need someone to talk to. And it doesn’t have to be in a hospital setting, it can be right in their home,” said Beverly Prince, a licensed clinical social worker at Clifton Springs Hospital.

Ontario County has participated in a pilot program that installs iPads in sheriff’s cruisers. When officers respond to mental health calls, which they do multiple times a day, they conduct an early assessment. If the person agrees, they use the iPad to have a FaceTime or Zoom call with a mental health professional at Clifton Springs Hospital.

“When people realize that when we walk in the door, we're not just going to take them away from the comfort of their home and take them to the hospital, but we're actually there to help them and that's one of the tools in our toolbox that allows us to say, 'Hey, we don't need to take you anywhere right now, but maybe you can talk to the mental health practitioner using the iPad,'” said Sergeant Mark Taylor of the Ontario County Sheriff's Office.

This professional can better assess whether the person should be brought in for treatment by the MP or whether they can provide advice via the iPad and set up outpatient consultation and transportation options.

“We've seen a lot less people having to go to hospital, we've seen a lot less things happening in the news, we know our members in the community and now the police can join in on that,” the Prince said.

The sheriff's department says the program has reduced the number of mental health arrests and freed up valuable space in the Clifton Springs psychiatric wing, while continuing to provide help to those who need it. They also say the program can play a pivotal role in de-escalating situations, leading to fewer use-of-force incidents.

Wayne County officers are also part of this pilot program. It has proven to be very helpful in our more rural counties because often the drive to and from the hospital for a mental health arrest can take over an hour, cutting into the officers' time for other calls and taking them out of the county.

Of course, if officers arrive on scene and it's clearly a mental health crisis and the person is threatening to harm themselves or others, they can still arrest them and take them directly to the hospital. Or, if the person doesn't want to use an iPad to talk to a doctor, they don't have to, but depending on how the situation evolves, they can still be taken directly to the doctor.

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