Durham, North Carolina, Reshapes 911 Response with Unarmed Community Teams
Durham, North Carolina, is leading a national trend by deploying unarmed community response teams, known as the Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team (HEART), to handle certain 911 calls instead of police officers. Launched in 2022, HEART has responded to over 25,000 911 calls, addressing issues like trespassing, panhandling, intoxication, and welfare checks. The program includes a community response team, a limited co-response team with mental health clinicians paired with police, and a mental health clinician embedded in the 911 call center. Studies by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and Duke University indicate that the program is associated with fewer arrests, is helpful to police officers, and has increased 911 calls, suggesting growing public trust. This initiative is part of a broader movement in nearly 100 U.S. cities to reform 911 response since 2020.
