Care over jail: Emergence Health and EPPD partners up for diversion program

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA)-- El Paso City Council has approved an agreement to expand the relationship between Emergence Health Network and the local Police Department. This agreement allows police officers to divert individuals to Emergence's Montana office diversion center instead of taking them to jail or an emergency room.

Staff Chief Rene Hurtado at Emergence Health Network, emphasized the importance of placing individuals quickly into appropriate treatment. “We don't want someone who is having an inappropriate placement to be there for very long. So the quicker we can get someone into an appropriate location for treatment, the better it is,” Hurtado said.

He also noted that law enforcement and Emergence have a long-standing relationship due to frequent interactions involving persons with mental illness.

Assistant Chief of Police Juan Briones highlighted the operational benefits for law enforcement. “It's also going to help us put our officers back on the street, faster than booking somebody into the county jail,” Briones said.

Police, the District Attorney's Office and Emergence Health Network collaboratively identified 15 specific criminal offenses that qualify for the diversion program.

However, certain serious crimes are explicitly excluded. Assistant Chief of Police Briones clarified these limitations. “We're not going to divert felonies. We're not going to divert, misdemeanors that involve violence. And the Court of Criminal Procedures also made it a point that we're not going to divert anybody that's been, taken into custody for driving while intoxicated or any of those type of crimes,” Briones said.

Briones also stated that he believes this program will help address the issue of repeat offenders. He described the current cycle where individuals are taken to jail, released and then reoffend. “what happens now is that we take them to jail. They come out and they reoffend. And it's like a cycle. We want to break that cycle,” Briones said.

Emergence also recommends that individuals experiencing a mental health crisis call 988, a 24-hour suicide hotline, for immediate assistance.

Officers will receive training on this new policy and protocol.