Jim Thorpe Police Chief Joseph Schatz knows being a police officer is not strictly black and white when it comes to enforcing the law.

“A few years ago, I came to the conclusion that the police department needs advocates for mental health.”

When the department looked at the number of offenders with mental health issues, they decided that learning about crisis intervention was a necessary tool in the law enforcement field.

He and his officers were trained in crisis intervention and began looking at the incidents in a new light, not strictly through law enforcement.

“You learn ways to deal with mental health individuals,” he said, noting his department meets with the crisis intervention team quarterly, which provides data sharing opportunities on consumers that offend and send it to MH/DS, which can help intervene.

“Having a meeting with Jared (Soto) the other day, was something I treasure because the fact that there are more players now that we can reach out to. … Prior to that, it was just incarcerated and that in turn, put someone in incarceration with no treatment and then back on the street again and back to dealing with law enforcement.”

Schatz said having Soto and the Stepping Up Initiative will help keep “the circle going” so that people can get the help they need, while the police can still provide enforcement.

“Dealing with the recidivism rate helps us all out because if we can get the treatment to the individual consumer, that makes my job a lot easier, and everyone who’s involved with the process a lot easier.”

Commissioner Rocky Ahner commended Soto and Schatz for the effort already taken.

“This is not a get out of jail free card,” he said. “This is getting people the help they need. Every day we have people in the prison who probably shouldn’t be in there and if we can get 10 people out of that jail and get them help, then that’s where we got to go.”

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein said that municipalities have to realize just how bad the mental health crisis is in the county and support initiatives and crisis intervention practices.