Fayetteville police hires first-ever social worker
Fayetteville police announced the addition of a full-time social worker to the department on Tuesday.
Steven Greathouse, the newly-hired lead social services advocate, recently graduated from the master of social work program at the University of Arkansas.
Greathouse said the goal of the social services advocate is to keep people out of jail by intercepting in a crisis before someone commits a crime.
"We've been trying to implement this project to implement social work practice in community policing to help decriminalize addiction and homelessness and mental health and a lot of other vulnerable situations that people in the Fayetteville community might run into," Greathouse said.
Fayetteville City Council member D’Andre Jones helped the police department catalyze the social work program, which came from a $250,000 federal grant. He said he believes the advocate role will help cut down police use of force.
"When we think about what has happened throughout the country as it relates to civil and social unrest, what better time? What better time to invest in people? What better time that makes sure that we are equitable Fayetteville," Jones said. "We pride ourselves on being inclusive, right? Well, I think that we've invested in that, and it's going to pay huge dividends for all of us."
Fayetteville patrol officers who first respond to a call can gauge the need for a social worker on scene.
Once that patrol officer deems the scene safe but necessary for intervention, they will call in the co-response team. That is made up of an advocate, or social worker — in this case, Greathouse — partnered with a crisis intervention-trained police officer.
"We talk and do a needs assessment survey and gather some information and figure out how we can help someone through that crisis that they're experiencing," Greathouse said.
The advocate will not be dressed in officer uniform and will travel in an unmarked vehicle, "really allowing for, for the interaction with community members to be less intimidating,” Greathouse said.
“When we think about those situations, oftentimes, there are mental health challenges,” Jones said. “And so having a social worker there to kind of intervene, at some point it's going to make or at some level, it's going to make a huge difference.”