New Greensboro office puts focus on police alternatives

Greensboro’s new Office of Community Safety (OCS) currently provides behavioral clinicians to serve alongside police officers on mental health calls. But plans call for additional programs starting next year.

OCS is designed to be a bridge between the police department and city services, says Latisha McNeil, who manages Greensboro’s Office of Community Safety. She says public input sessions showed that residents want changes to how the city handles emergencies.

“They want the help, but they want to be able to have alternate responses other than law enforcement,” she says.

In January, two new programs will begin. One will include interventions for offenders who are known to be prone to violence. It’s similar to a program that has been running for years in High Point, McNeil says. 

A second program will offer deferred prosecutions to people willing to enroll in programs such as substance abuse treatment to deal with underlying issues that led to their criminal charges.