A Greensboro program that sends behavioral health counselors, instead of police officers, to some emergency calls is expanding its hours.
The Clinician Alternative Response team will now operate weekdays from 6 a.m. to midnight — eight hours longer than during the program’s initial pilot phase.
The initiative allows mental health counselors to respond to certain low-risk calls without law enforcement. More complex situations are still handled through Greensboro’s existing Behavioral Health Response Team, which includes both clinicians and police officers.
Officials say clinicians responded to 45 calls during the roughly month-long pilot program earlier this year, easing demand on patrol officers.