New Emergency Call Center Alert System Coming to Arlington County

Fast emergency response times are a critical for 911 and crisis hotlines. In addition to providing medical care when someone is injured, there is also a need for care when a person's behavior threatens others or themselves.  

To support the citizens of Arlington County in Virginia, officials have announced the development of a new alert system to improve response times for behavioral health crises.

Many times when there is mental illness, substance abuse, or other intellectual or developmental disabilities present during an emergency, it is important the appropriate prfoessionals are sent to avoid further harm.

The program is already available in other regions of Virginia. This one, in Arlington County, will need to be fully implemented by July 1. It originated in response to the Marcus-David Peters Act, enacted in 2020 after a 24-year-old biology teacher in Richmond was killed by a police officer while experiencing a mental health crisis.

With “Marcus Alert” 911 systems, emergency call center dispatchers will be able to transfer anyone who dials 911 or 988 (the national suicide and mental health crisis hotline number) to a call center with agents trained to determine the best course of action for the situation. Whether it's communicating over the phone to de-escalate the situation, or sending special crisis units or law enforcement out to investigate.

Officials hope the new system will address problems like bed shortages in hospitals and provide support for increasing mental illness situations in the area. They also hope less arrests will happen for those psychiatric symptoms, and instead provide access to the resources they need.

Edited by Luke Bellos