R.A.P.I.D. : Recognize, Assess, Protect, Initiate, and Determine Outcome

Law enforcement officers are trained to act quickly, take control, and resolve situations efficiently. But when the call involves a mental health crisis, that wiring can work against a successful outcome.
This course focuses on the most critical part of the encounter-the first five minutes on scene. Officers will learn why traditional law enforcement training often clashes with mental health response, how to quickly recognize the difference between a criminal event and a behavioral health crisis, and how to slow down and adjust tactics accordingly.
RAPID provides practical, immediately applicable strategies to improve safety, decision-making, and outcomes during mental health calls-and serves as a gateway to more advanced training in the full CIT three-day course.
This course examines how law enforcement officers are "wired" and trained to respond to calls for service-training that often does not align well with the realities of mental health-related incidents. While traditional law enforcement training emphasizes command presence, control, and rapid resolution, mental health calls frequently require a different mindset and approach.

The objectives of this course are threefold:

1. Understanding the Challenge - To explore why law enforcement officers do not typically perform well on mental health calls, including how standard training and conditioning influence response patterns.
2. Improving Recognition - To help officers more quickly and accurately identify when they are dealing with a mental health event rather than a criminal incident.
3. Adjusting Approach and Tactics - To provide practical tools that encourage officers to slow down, reassess the situation, and modify their response strategy accordingly.

The course also addresses the operational limitations of both law enforcement and EMS. Historically, officers have often been trained that if a situation involves mental health concerns, they should request an ambulance. However, in many cases, EMS personnel determine that they are unable to take action, effectively transferring responsibility back to law enforcement.
This challenge is particularly significant in many areas of Alabama, especially in rural counties, where mental health resources are limited or nonexistent. As a result, law enforcement officers frequently remain the primary responders to these complex situations

Instructor: David Hicks:
David retired in February of 2021 from Clanton Police Department with over 27 years in law enforcement. During his law enforcement career, he worked as a Deputy Sheriff/Corrections Officer with the Chilton County Sheriff's Department, a State Trooper with the Alabama Department of Public Safety, and as an officer with the Clanton Police Department where he served as a dual-purpose canine handler, school resource officer, accident reconstructionist, and training officer. He began working in emergency services in 1989 and has been active, both as a responder and as an instructor, in firefighting, EMS, hazmat, law enforcement, emergency management, hospital staff, private security, and disaster response operations. Since September 2021, David has served as a Tribal Police Officer with the Poarch Band of Creek Indians Police Department

Sponsors: This seminar is sponsored by AUM's Alabama Crime Prevention Clearinghouse & Training Institute, the Institute for Criminal Justice Education, Inc., Alabama Peace Officers' Association, U.S. Attorney's Office, MDA, and ADECA Law Enforcement Planning/Traffic Safety Division. This training is funded by an ADECA Law Enforcement Planning subgrant #2026-DJ-02-15 awarded to AUM and its Alabama Crime Prevention Clearinghouse.

Cancellation Policy

**Online Self-Cancellation: You may now remove/cancel yourself from a class or waiting list online! Self-Cancellations online can only be completed up until two days prior to the start date of the class. Please log in to your account, click on Registration History, then Current Courses, and then you may choose the classes you need to cancel. If you need to cancel in less than two days prior, please contact our office at 334-244-3804 or [email protected].
No Shows: Most of our classes have waiting lists and we need to know ASAP if you are not able to attend. We are tracking all no shows (people who do not attend class and don’t notify us prior to the start of class).

Fee Breakdown

Category	Description	Amount
Course Fee (Basic)	None Entered	$ 0.00