Jersey City officials announced Monday that the local police department will expand their ARRIVE Together program participation from two days a week to four.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“This expansion is about getting people help before a crisis turns into an injury, an arrest, or a tragedy. The goal is not to criminalize someone in crisis,” Mayor James Solomon said in a statement.
“ The goal is to respond with the right training, the right support, and the right resources so we can protect the individual, their family, our officers, and the broader community. This isn’t the end of our work, just the next step as we build towards comprehensive, seven days-a-week coverage across Jersey City.”
ARRIVE Together, which stands for Alternative Responses to Reduce Instances of Violence & Escalation, pairs specially trained police officers with Jersey City Medical Center Mental Health Screeners to respond to individuals in crisis.
They also conduct follow-up visits, assist with wellness checks, and help connect residents to appropriate care before a situation escalates.
Jersey City first announced they were participating in the program back in October 2024, which came about 14 months after Andrew Washington was fatally shot by a police officer after he grabbed a knife while he was in the midst of a mental health crisis.
A state grand jury cleared the officer involved of any charges, while a federal lawsuit filed by Washington’s sister, Courtnie, is still pending in federal court, all as HCV first reported.
“This is a smarter, safer, and more compassionate way to respond to people who are experiencing a mental health crisis,” added Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose.
“Our officers are there to make sure the scene is safe, de-escalate when needed, and give the Mental Health Screener the ability to do their job. We do not want to arrest people who need help. We want to get them the support they need before the situation gets worse.”
Following approval from the state and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Jersey City Medical Center expanded the local program last week to include five Jersey City police officers who now actively work with the JCMS’s Mental Health Screener four days a week.
Before the expansion, the ARRIVE Together Unit conducted 40 follow-up visits during the month of May while operating two days per week.
Since expanding to five officers and four days per week, the unit has already conducted 20 follow-up visits in one week, doubling the program’s previous capacity, according to the Department of Public Safety.
Further, ARRIVE Together officers respond in plain clothes and are Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, trained.
CIT is a comprehensive training program that teaches officers how to safely and effectively communicate with and de-escalate individuals experiencing psychiatric crises.
The training emphasizes empathy, mental health awareness, officer safety, and diversion to community-based services when appropriate.
Some incidents require extended de-escalation, with recent responses lasting up to nine hours as officers worked to safely connect the individual to treatment without using arrest or force.
“This work takes time, patience, training, and restraint. Officers may spend hours trying to get someone the help they need safely. That is the purpose of this program,” expressed Police Chief Robert Kearns.
“ We are using our training and our partnerships to reduce escalation, reduce unnecessary arrests, and help make sure people don’t fall through the cracks.”
In addition to the ARRIVE Together expansion, JCPD is working with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office to strengthen crisis intervention resources across the department.
To date, 129 Jersey City police officers have received crisis intervention resource training focused on connecting individuals with social service providers for mental health, substance abuse, homelessness, and other crisis-related needs.
This is the third police-related announcement made by the Solomon administration in the past week, first scrapping with his predecessor, Steven Fulop, over alleged improperly reported crime stats and then the rollout of a public crime data portal.
