MEET THE WOMEN OF BSO’S THREAT MANAGEMENT UNIT BEHAVIORAL HEALTH LICENSED THERAPIST PROGRAM

The Broward Sheriff’s Office Threat Management Unit (TMU) has embarked on an innovative program to prevent targeted acts of mass violence.

“The whole purpose of BSO’s Threat Management Unit is to investigate persons who may want to commit acts of mass violence and to stop that from occurring,” BSO Captain Michael Riggio said. “Through our investigations, we have noticed that many of the folks we investigate sometimes have some type of mental health disorder or issue. So, we have hired behavioral health licensed therapists to assess these individuals and connect them to mental health providers in the community.”

TMU’s Behavioral Health Licensed Therapist (BHLT) program began in 2020 and is comprised of four BHLT clinicians: Jessica Bailey-Pierre, Devon Klapholz, Angie Rodriguez and Lori Battaglia. These clinicians work with TMU detectives to investigate threats of mass violence made by children and adults, and have decades of combined mental health care experience. Their sole function in the unit is to assess individuals identified as posing public harm—due to issues related to mental illness, mental instability, and/or substance abuse—and link those individuals to providers who can offer them treatment.

The BHLT clinicians also remain in contact with the healthcare provider to ensure the individual being treated is making progress and no longer poses a danger to themselves or the community.

“We may not really know how a person feels or what they’ve been through, but our goal is to connect them with services that can help them live their life in a way that is better for them and the people around them,” BHLT clinician Lori Battaglia said.

BSO’s BHLT unit is housed inside BSO’s Real Time Crime Center and operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The program is voluntary, and the services are offered to individuals whether they are arrested or not. If a person commits a crime by making a threat and probable cause is established, they will be arrested.

THIS REPORT BY:
Gerdy St. Louis/PIO

[kevinnapier]

This is how #Cummunities #BetterTheBalancend #BreakTheStigma. #TogetherWeCan have #CultureTransformation! #WellDone @BrowardSheriffsOffice #MentalHealth #Team! #LoveThis #CommunityOutreach and #MentalHealthAwareness!