North Sound RADAR Navigators
Update: Five Cities Form Regional Crisis Response Agency
In November, 2022 The City Councils of Bothell, Kenmore, Kirkland, Lake Forest Park, and Shoreline adopted a partner agreement to form a new Regional Crisis Response (RCR) Agency. The signed Interlocal (ILA) agreement merges the North Sound RADAR (Response Awareness, De-Escalation, and Referral) Navigator program with Kirkland’s Community Responder program to form a new entity to provide community mobile crisis response services to all five cities.
Read more about this exciting step forward.
Additional Headlines:
$500,000 Funding Boost from DOJ
A Department of Justice grant will fund a RADAR "treatment navigator" at the Center for Human Services in Shoreline.
This funding and full-time position will help bridge the gap between law enforcement and behavioral health in Bothell, and all of the cities that partner with this innovative program.
This push forward has been featured in local media, including the Kirkland Reporter, and Shoreline Area News.
Three Full-Time Navigator Positions Added
The RADAR Navigator program is taking a major step forward, adding three full-time positions.
This progress earned the attention of local news publications, including Northshore News. Additional information is also available in News Flash
WHAT IS RADAR?
RADAR (Response Awareness, De-escalation And Referral) is an effort by the Police Departments in Bothell, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Kenmore, and Kirkland to address the rights and needs of individuals with behavioral health issues and/or developmental disabilities (BH/DD).
The North Sound RADAR Navigator program aims to decrease use-of-force incidents between police and individuals with BH/DD, offering connection to services and resources through a Mental Health Professional (MHP) Navigator accompanied by a law enforcement co-responder. MHP Navigators focus on moving people into community-based and long term systems of care to reduce reliance on the crisis and criminal legal systems and to improve outcomes.
RADAR encourages the building of relationships between police and the populations they serve and the sharing of information amongst first responders to allow a more effective and safe response during a time of crisis. Through communication and collaborative planning, RADAR seeks to reduce use of force incidents engendered by fear or misunderstanding.
The program went into effect January 1, 2017 and was evaluated by researchers at George Mason University. It is staffed by a Program Coordinator, several mental health professionals (RADAR Navigators) and specially trained patrol officers.
The unique inter-jurisdictional nature of the RADAR program recognizes that people often move throughout a region, and capitalizes on economies of scale in staffing and administration. The creation and operation of RADAR has been made possible by early funding through the King County Sheriff’s Office, and the financial support of the United States Department of Justice through the Bureau of Justice Assistance Smart Policing Initiative, the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC), and the King County Mental Illness Drug Dependency (MIDD) Behavioral Health Sales Tax Fund.
UPDATE: North Sound Radar Program's much-needed funding is secured in 2021-2022 King County Budget.
Bothell City Council Unanimously Approves Grant Acceptance, Major Funding of Radar Navigator Program
During the April 20, 2021 City Council meeting, Bothell City Council Members voted unanimously to accept $780 thousand dollars in grant money to provide major funding for the Radar Navigator program through 2022. Here's the Radar Navigator Presentation to Bothell City Council, including questions and answers about this leading-edge program.