Durham's Unarmed 911 Response Program Expands, Reshaping Public Safety
Durham, North Carolina, is at the forefront of a growing national trend where unarmed community response teams are handling 911 calls that traditionally would have been addressed by police. The city's 'Durham Heart' program, led by Ryan Smith, Director of Durham's Community Safety Department, has been operational for four years and has responded to over 25,000 911 calls. This initiative emerged in the wake of the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, prompting dozens of U.S. cities to re-evaluate their emergency response protocols. Initially, in 2020, only six U.S. cities utilized mental health workers instead of police for certain 911 calls; now, nearly 100 cities have adopted similar alternative response programs. The Durham Heart team, equipped with resources like snacks, water, and hygiene kits, addresses calls such as trespassing, panhandling, and intoxication, which rarely escalate to violence. A study by the Research Triangle Institute found that Durham's program leads to fewer arrests and is general...
