In an editorial, Jersey City mayoral candidate Jim McGreevey expresses his opinion on why the city needs to implement ARRIVE Together immediately.
Andrew Washington was killed in the midst of a mental health crisis over a year ago on August 27th, 2023. This tragedy underscored the nexus between mental illness and the criminal justice system, which has been well acknowledged and detailed.
As the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office noted, “In 2020, across New Jersey, two out of every three uses of force by law enforcement involved a civilian suffering from mental health or substance abuse issues. Over half of all fatal police encounters occurred in similar circumstances…”
“In recent years, we have asked law enforcement officers to undertake roles they never expected when choosing to serve—marriage counselor, addiction specialist, social worker. And increasingly, police are asked to act like doctors or psychiatrists, determining what drug a person may have taken, or what mental health condition they may be experiencing.”
On August 29th, 2023 on Twitter, we advocated that Jersey City move forward to implement the ARRIVE Together initiative:
“We pray for Andrew, family, & all involved. Intersection of mental health & criminal justice is difficult. 1st, engage ARRIVE Together, NJAG initiative to respond to emergencies. 2nd, need better, efficient follow-up for those with mental health disorders & courage to reach out.”
Yet, today, a year and one month later, we are still waiting for action to be taken. Clinicians in law enforcement understand the importance of having trained stakeholders partner with law enforcement to achieve safer outcomes in emergent circumstances.
Again on September 1st, 2023, the Jersey Journal reported, “New Jersey Re-Entry Corp. founder Jim McGreevey, the former governor, suggested having the state include Jersey City in the ARRIVE program, a state pilot program that supplements police responses to mental health crises with mental health professionals.”
Again on December 14th, 2023 on Twitter I announced the attendance of our Attorney General for our Annual Reentry Conference, which focused on Mental Health, while stating, “NJRC values ARRIVETogether, which pairs law enforcement with mental health professionals to improve behavioral health emergency responses. NJRC is hosting @NewJerseyOAG at our Annual Reentry Conference on Thursday, March 28th, focusing upon mental health.”
Again on December 21st, 2023, I shared with the Jersey Journal, “When you have a program designed by the Attorney General and colonel of the State Police, with strong results, this would almost necessitate enrollment or participation…So the first step is to engage with ARRIVE. Second, we need to provide better, more efficient follow-up services for individuals who are suffering from mental health disorders and have the courage to reach out for help.”
Again on March 28th, 2024 at the Annual Reentry Conference, Hudson County View reported that I stated, “Mental illness is just that. An illness that should be treated appropriately with clinically driven treatment…NJ Reentry strongly supports Arrive Together. It should be in every community.”
Attorney General Platkin stated, “We are now the first state in the country to have an alternative response program operational in all 21 counties of the State of New Jersey.”
ARRIVE has four basic goals:
1. Have a mental health specialist, rather than an officer, address behavioral health concerns;
2. Increase the utilization of mental health resources;
3. Keeps residents in the community;
4. Improve trust between law enforcement and the community.
It has been over a year since Andrew’s death. The Attorney General and the Colonel of the State Police have both enumerated the success of ARRIVE Together for the sake of the mentally ill, the sake of law enforcement, and the sake of the community.
Jersey City needs to implement ARRIVE Together now.
