CIT: How to Build Your Team
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SESSION INFO

Wednesday, January 25, 2023
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
Session Type: Workshop
"Objectives • Answer “What is CIT?” • Inform officers of Crisis Intervention Team training, its history, purpose, and implementation within Johnson County • Inform attendees of the multi-agency collaboration movement to implement CIT within Johnson County • Provide the current practices and policies of the Crisis Intervention Team within Johnson County Abstract The history of mental illness and law enforcement is one paved with multiple challenges. The hope of the implementation of Crisis Intervention Team training within Johnson County is to redirect officers from simply placing a person experiencing a crisis in a local jail and/or completing an immediate detention. The further implementation of the Crisis Intervention Team creates a specialized unit that will respond to dispatched calls involving someone experiencing a crisis. This will allow other road officers to attend to different matters while ensuring that those responding to such calls are properly trained in the handling of said calls. This multi-agency collaborative effort seeks to reduce the number of individuals with a mental illness from being incarcerated within the local jail by ensuring they are given resources to prevent future interaction with the criminal justice system. Presentation Description Team members will present to you the methods in which Johnson County implemented their CIT program and specialized unit to assist officers in handling mental health calls for service.

SESSION PRESENTERS
Shannon Chambers
Probation Officer, Johnson County Probation


Shannon Chambers is a twenty-four-year Probation Officer with Johnson County, currently serving as the training coordinator for Johnson County Court Services and a CIT Deputy at the Johnson County Sherriff’s Office. She is a training provider for the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy, Juvenile IYAS, Policing the Teen Brain, QPR and is certified as a CIT Officer. She currently serves as the Johnson County and Morgan County CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management) Co-Coordinator. Shannon serves as the chair of the Probation Officer Advisory Board and sits on the executive board of POPAI (Probation Officers Professional Association of Indiana). Shannon is currently the President of the Morgan County Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 119 Auxiliary and the Chair of the Fraternal Order of Police State Lodge for Officer Wellness committee. She has a Bachelor Degree in Criminal Justice from Indiana University and a Master’s of Science Degree in Human Resource Management from Indiana Wesleyan University. Recently she received a Certification in Critical Incident Stress Management and is now certified to train through ICISF for Group Crisis Management.

James Engmark
CIT Deputy / CIT Coordinator, Johnson County Probation


Jim Engmark is a CIT (Crisis Intervention Officer) for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office and serves as the Co-Coordinator for the Johnson County Crisis Intervention Team. Jim is responsible for Public Relations for businesses, schools, and churches in Johnson County. Jim is also the Mental Health officer, and involved with NAMI Certified Crisis Intervention, and Critical Incident Stress Management. Jim is also involved with the Problem Solving Courts in Johnson County. Jim worked for Johnson County Sheriff’s Office from 1990 to 2002 and served as a jail officer, dispatcher, 911 Coordinator, and Road Deputy and SWAT. Jim left the Sheriff’s Office and went to White River Township Fire Department as Lieutenant. Jim moved to Florida in 2011 to work as the Fire Chief for Little Gasparilla Island Fire Rescue after serving ten years with the White River Township Fire Department near Indianapolis, Indiana. While at White River Township Jim served in many capacities from firefighter/EMT to EMS and Training Chief. Working alongside a dedicated team at White River Township, Jim helped develop White River Township’s Ambulance Transport service. Jim also was the White River Township Fire Department’s Public Information Officer. Jim has recently returned to Indiana to be with his family, and is back working for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office as a Crisis Intervention Deputy. Jim was the Training Officer and Community Liaison after first returning in 2018.