Two Holmes police officers Tyler Winter and Patrick Lampkin recently attended Mississippi Crisis Intervention training in Jackson. The 40-hour crisis intervention team academy training was held at the Hinds County Behavioral Health Center.
The extensive training allowed the officers to work through different scenarios they might run into on campus. The officers practiced mental health, drug induced, domestic violence, anxiety or depression situations that would better prepare them anything that might happen at work.
“The training was eye-opening, it made me more aware of what to look for more when dealing with people on campus and interaction is key,” said Lampkin.
The training helped the officers look for signs of people having mental health disorders or having a mental health crisis. In more detailed terms it trained them to be more familiar with the signs of students or faculty who might be showing signs of mental health disorders such as anxiety, suicide, depression, autism, personality disorder or even schizophrenia.
With the training, the officers will have better verbal skills to de-escalate a situation using a certain tone or key words to calm a subject down if needed.
“The training gave me the skills that I need to help a student or faculty member get through whatever crisis they may be having and get them the help they need by identifying what kind of mental health issue they might be having at the time,” said Winter.
Not only did the training help with how to handle any situation better it also helped them be able to give someone who might be going through a mental health crisis a place to go that could help them further like St. Dominic, Merritt Health or UMMC.
Both officers completed the training which was taught by Crisis Intervention Team Training Academy Program Coordinator Dr. Tiffany C. Anders in October 2022.
