Sheriff Pope’s Message of the Week on April 24, 2026

Lyon County NV – April 24, 2026

Message of the Week 04/24/2026

This week, staff of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office (sworn and non-sworn) from the detention division, patrol division, dispatch, and other community and government groups participated in CRIT training. The conversation regarding this training began back in August 2025, between Chief Deputy Brantingham and NAMI representatives. CRIT stands for Crisis Response and Intervention Training, a program we are partnering with The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) – Western Nevada to bring to Lyon County.

I would like to thank Laura Yanez and Liam Miller enough for their continued partnership, time, and effort in ensuring this training was brought to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office. We are looking forward to continuing and expanding this program throughout the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office, as we push to certify our staff in CRIT training.

The following is a course description provided by NAMI – Western Nevada, which summarizes the program in a way I thought would be useful for everyone reading this post.

What is CRIT?

The Crisis Response and Intervention Training (CRIT) is a 40-hour training program designed to prepare police officers in their response to people experiencing crises related to behavioral health conditions (including mental health conditions and substance use disorders) and intellectual and developmental disabilities. This is a curriculum of CIT training, and is designed to complement the development and delivery of crisis response programs planned by law enforcement agencies, behavioral health service providers, and disability service providers in the community.

Why Do We Need CRIT?

CRIT’s overall philosophy is officer safety, public safety, and diversion from the criminal justice system when possible. The goals of the curriculum include:

∙ Expanding knowledge of mental health conditions, substance use disorders,

and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

∙ Creating connections with people with lived experience.

∙ Enhancing officers’ awareness of community services.

∙ Emphasizing the de-escalation of crisis situations.

∙ Supporting officer safety and wellness.

The staff who attended this training stated that it was extremely informative, providing an additional level of knowledge on top of the state-mandated training they are required to attend each year. Our continued partnership with NAMI is critical to the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office’s mission, and I look forward to continuing this excellent partnership. Please visit the NAMI website for more information. The website also contains helpful information if you are experiencing mental health issues or a crisis.

namiwesternnevada.org