School resource officers deployed in downtown Sioux Falls to increase police visibility
Fourth year that police have joined with Southeastern Behavioral to bring mental health services to people with needs
The Sioux Falls Police Department has resumed a program of placing school resource officers downtown to increase the visibility of law enforcement during summer months, Chief Jon Thum said Tuesday.
It will also be the fourth year in which the department has paired a school resource officer with a mental health professional from Southeastern Behavioral HealthCare. Those units spend five days a week monitoring calls for service and determining which calls could use the help of someone trained to deal with mental health issues.
Thum said the summer months bring an increase in “destructive behavior,” and the stepped up police presence is meant to dissuade that behavior.
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