New Foundations Funding for Landmark Crisis Intervention Pilot Study

The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Simon Harris TD, announced the Irish Research Council funding for 77 New Foundations projects yesterday. This programme brings researchers and community organisations together to collaborate on projects that will have a tangible impact on societal issues. In his research role as researcher with the University of Limerick and the implementation team leader of the co responder Crisis Intervention Team pilot project in the Limerick Garda Division Superintendent Andrew Lacey successfully applied for award funding with Dr Alan Cusack as research partner. The project to date has formulated strong collaborations with the HSE mid-west, Police Scotland, Toronto Police, Boston PD, PSNI, Framingham Police Boston, University of Limerick, Worcester State University in Massachusetts and individual academic experts who will contribute to delivering the highest standard co-response initiative possible. 

The proposal was a Round Table Discussion/Symposium with International Collaborators which will be led by international experts and practitioners in the field of crisis intervention. The project proposed to will facilitate a unique opportunity for experiential information exchange with respect to best practice approaches to addressing the needs of vulnerable individuals in their interactions with law enforcement officers. In cognising the need for a multi-disciplinary response to such cases, the discussion will host expert speakers from a range of related fields including law enforcement, the mental health profession, psychiatry, medicine, criminal justice and community agencies from Ireland, United States, Scotland, Canada and Northern Ireland. The overarching objective of the discussion is to inform the design and implementation of a Crisis Co-intervention Team in Ireland through research analysis and professional practice. The learning outcomes which are achieved through this proposed dialogue will not only be applied to enhance the design of a new Crisis Intervention Team pilot in Ireland, but they will also be publicly disseminated in a report to draw attention to best practice standards in meeting the needs of vulnerable persons in the criminal process. The project represents a constituent element of An Garda Síochána’s realisation of the procedural reforms recommended by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland (2019).

Further information about this project can be found here.