PBS News Weekend 
Season 4, Episode 37 of 99
On Saturday, NewsHour Weekend examines a special approach to policing that's being adopted in communities nationwide. While recent cases that highlight the overuse of force against people with mental illness have raised questions about police training, for decades the Memphis, Tennessee, Police Department has been pioneering a model to better handle these situations. The city's Crisis Intervention Team, made up of officers specially trained to respond to those with mental health issues, aims to send fewer people with mental illness to jail and ease tensions between residents and police. With nearly 40 percent of Americans with mental illness passing through the criminal justice system at some point, the Memphis model is now being used in almost 3,000 jurisdictions across the country. NewsHour's Megan Thompson reports from where it all began.
