Ambassadors got to visit with Grinnell Police Department today to learn more about what’s currently happening in the department and about Faith Repp’s new permanent position. Last time we visited with GPD, Faith was a contract worker through Capstone Behavioral Healthcare. With funding changes coming down from the state, Chief McClelland felt it was important to make Faith a full time member of his team.
Faith is the department’s Mental Health Liaison. She assists officers on a variety of crisis calls including; minor domestic situations, juvenile calls, DHS referrals, welfare checks, suicide calls and also works closely with the school district to help manage the truancy. If Faith doesn’t go on a call, she follows up with individuals after they’ve had contact with an officer to develop safety plans, work with families and discuss additional services that may be able to help. She’s able to develop profiles and guidelines for officers to use when responding to future calls. As a result of her work over the last two year’s Chief McClelland reported that calls are down this year. In August, 18% of calls were mental health related.
Chief McClelland thinks this type of position could become more standard across the state and the county in the next decade. Having Faith as a resource has allowed his officers to better respond to calls and provided better support for community members.
McClelland also reported that the department is still short staffed and actively seeking people interested in a law enforcement career. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more, reach out to the Grinnell Police Department (641) 236-2670 or stop in at 1020 Spring St.
Pictured L-R: Jeff Finch - Wes Finch Auto Plaza, Trent Arment - MCG - Mahaska Communication Group, Mariss Ylagan - Grinnell Chamber, Kody Bigelow - Walmart Grinnell, Rachael Kinnick - Grinnell Chamber, Brad German - GreenState Credit Union Grinnell, Chief McClelland - Grinnell Police Department, Donnette Ellis - Grinnell College Community Connections, Faith Repp - Grinnell Police Department, Desiree Stayer - German Plumbing Heating and Cooling, Lisa Cirks - Cirks Financial Services, Jennifer McAlexander - JM Consulting & Hawkeye Lock & Security, Donna Fischer - UnityPoint Health - Grinnell Regional Medical Center, Rick Jacoby - Grinnell American Legion, Fran Conn
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