The Burleson County Sheriff’s Office featured in the Texas Monthly Progress Magazine
BURLESON COUNTY, Texas (KBTX) – The Burleson County Sheriff’s Office is being recognized in the Texas Monthly Progress Magazine for making strides in dealing with mental health cases.
They were featured for their “proactive approach” in regards to their Crisis Intervention Team. This team was created three years ago in 2020 with only Sergeant Shawn Edwards. Now, the team is three people consisting of Sergeant Edwards, pretrial mental health caseworker, Haley Nichols, and Deputy Randy Jackson.
The magazine says this team has positively impacted the community in the way they actively identify and work with various mental health cases.
Sergeant Shawn Edwards says the team advocates for those with mental illnesses or disabilities.
“One of our primary goals is to ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect,” Edwards said. “The purpose of it is that it is the right thing to do, to help individuals who are struggling on a bad day.”
In the last three years, the team has handled 975 calls. Of those calls, 155 cases were diverted from the county jail and were moved to an option that would help them receive the best care.
“Ideally, if someone is in crisis and brought to jail, I would divert them before they are even booked,” said Nichols.
Because the CIT program did not house nearly a fifth of those cases in jail, it saved taxpayers money.
“We have saved Burleson County over a million dollars in tax,” said Edwards.
Ultimately, the team gives credit to the county’s support.
“One of the biggest reasons why this team is so successful is because of the partnerships we have across the community and in our county. It’s our county leaders who have really made this program grow and stride,” said Edwards.
