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Huntsville Police receives Gold-Level CIT Certification

Published on December 17, 2021

Chief McMurray standing in the Council Chambers with Council Member Akridge, Officer Hollingsworth and area stakeholders presenting a CIT Certification Gold Level Award to the public.

The Huntsville Police Department (HPD) was recently the first in Alabama to receive Gold-Level Certification by CIT International for the department’s Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) program. CIT International is a nonprofit organization focused on training and building community relationships to help those with mental illness and addiction disorders.

HPD Chief Mark McMurray announced the award at the Dec. 16 Huntsville City Council meeting.

“Our goal has always been to provide exceptional response to citizens suffering mental health crises,” he said. “This certification re-enforces our continued efforts to help citizens in crisis through supportive measures, on-the-job tools and intervention strategies and alternatives.”

CIT International provides four levels of certification: bronze, silver, gold and platinum. The degree to which a program has implemented CIT best practices determines the level of certification.

HPD established its Mental Health Crisis Response Plan in 2017, which included certified CIT officers deployed throughout the department. Those officers complete a 40-hour CIT International certification class and receive additional training throughout the year. All officers receive 16 hours of introductory training, which provides basic knowledge on behaviors associated with common mental health illnesses and appropriate de-escalation tactics.

In a statement, CIT International said it applauded the HPD program for building a “strong foundation of success” in just a few short years. It also recognized HPD’s commitment to build connections at the state and regional level as well as its efforts to advocate for added mental health services through its partnership with WellStone Behavioral Health.

“Huntsville’s program has a strong group of partners representing the key stakeholders for CIT – law enforcement, mental health providers and advocates – who oversee the program in a structured and organized way,” the statement said.

Click here for more information about HPD’s CIT program.

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