Hillsborough Township Police to Participate in the ARRIVE Together Program

Chief Mike McMahon is pleased to announce that in an effort to enhance the response to mental health calls, the Hillsborough Township Police Department has begun a regionalized approach to responding to those in mental health crisis. Partnering with the Branchburg Police Department, Manville Police Department, Montgomery Police Department, and Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services, the Hillsborough Township Police Department has agreed to participate in the ARRIVE Together Program which stands for Alternative Responses to Reduce Instances of Violence and Escalation (ARRIVE).

This co-response program will be staffed with a plainclothes police officer who has completed a 40-hour crisis intervention training course and a Mental Health Clinician from Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services. This team will respond to calls involving individuals in behavioral or mental health crises, confused/disoriented person(s), welfare checks, and other related calls. The team will be responding from Hillsborough Township 1-2 days per week with the remaining days being covered by one of the other participating departments. The Arrive Team will handle calls in all four jurisdictions.

The goals of this program include a reduction in arrests, uses of force, and unnecessary hospitalizations, improving mental health outcomes for subjects and resource use for both law enforcement and mental health providers, and improving relations between law enforcement and the community.