Program to pair cops, mental health workers expands to Newark

A program in New Jersey that pairs mental health workers with police officers is now up and running in Newark, the state’s largest city.

Attorney General Matt Platkin made the announcement on Tuesday at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center with representatives of the Newark Police Department, the state Legislature, NJ Transit and several health organizations.

The ARRIVE Together program assigns plainclothes cops and mental health workers to ride around together in unmarked patrol cars, responding to 911 calls when mental health issues are involved.

“It automatically de-escalates the situation and it allows us to take a clinical approach even when law enforcement is necessary,” Platkin said.

The program and its expansion are part of the attorney general's overall goal to reduce police use of force since he took office in February 2022. Since then, he has taken over the Paterson Police Department after officers killed a man who was in the midst of a mental health breakdown. Separately, he also charged a Paterson police officer for shooting a person who was running away.

“We're providing better health care outcomes, we're being more efficient with officers’ time and mental health professionals’ time,” Platkin said. “There are more officers sitting at a hospital waiting for three or four hours to fill out paperwork, waiting for that mental health professional to show up.”

ARRIVE is an acronym for “Alternative Responses to Reduce Instances of Violence and Escalation." It started as a small pilot program in June 2021 in Cumberland County, then expanded to Union and Atlantic counties. Platkin announced in February that he planned to expand ARRIVE Together into more than two dozen communities this year.

“The expansion of Arrive Together to Newark is a game-changer for us, a real significant shift in how we respond to the behavioral health crisis,” Kevin Corbett, president of NJ Transit, said.

He said NJ Transit police will work with the Newark Police Department and mental health workers to improve responses to people who camp out at Newark Penn Station, the transit system’s biggest station.

ARRIVE Together launched in Newark on June 21, Platkin said. The program there is a three-day-per-week pilot in which mental health screeners from Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care are paired with members of law enforcement.

In the one month that the program has been active, ARRIVE teams have engaged in or responded to more than 80 calls for service or reached out proactively to people who were experiencing homelessness or a mental health crisis, according to Platkin’s office.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka didn’t attend the news conference but released a statement praising Platkin’s work to expand the program.

“Building on what we’ve already established in Newark, this program ensures that each crisis incident is resolved as safely as possible,” Baraka said. “ARRIVE Together seamlessly supports the successful work of our Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery.”

Gov. Phil Murphy and the state Legislature plan to spend $10 million this year on expanding the program across the state.