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Grand Lake Mental Health has given the Dewey Police Department 8 iPads.

Sgt. Jimmy Gray said they only had one iPad in the past. He said the iPads help them with on-site evaluations when a mental health crisis arises.

For the patient(s), it helps calm their anxieties about going and being seen at a hospital. It resolves a privacy issue for Dewey Police as well.

Sgt. Gray said it will help get the patient to a facility faster and Dewey Police on back on the streets quicker. He said he has spent hours waiting for an evaluation to be completed at the Jane Phillips Medical Center before.

And the Dewey Police Department wants its officers to be ready for anything, especially when instances revolving around mental health occur.

As mental health because a big issue, training is needed. The Dewey Police Department has been doing what they can to get its officers the up-to-date training they need to be able to intervene in a mental health crisis.

The mental health crisis, Sgt. Gray said, will always be an issue until they get more resources and more training to prepare them for what's coming. He said the training is what is going to benefit them in the long run because they will be able to recognize a mental health crisis and handle the situation differently than they would if they didn't have the training.

(Photo courtesy: Dewey Police Department)