The experiment “will be a critical step forward in the city’s commitment to treat mental health crises as public health problems, not public safety issues,” Herman told a City Council committee. She said the city hopes to make the program citywide as quickly as possible, a hope she shares with Mayor Bill de Blasio, who called the new policy "the way of the future" and plans to build it out into 2022.
"If you have a call, a family in distress, someone with a mental health challenge, there's no history of violence, there's no weapon present — that's a call that should be handled by civilians, folks with the right training, mental health abilities, go in there and help that family," de Blasio said in an interview Monday night. "So much we're talking about — homelessness, incarceration, dropout rates — so many things came back to mental health challenges. So, we're making a fundamental investment here to say let's change how we approach it, and then the NYPD can take that time and energy that's freed up and focus it on the things that they do the best, which is to protect public safety in general. That balance needs to be re-struck."