What is PERT?

The 21 San Diego County PERT teams are comprised of specially trained officers and deputies who are paired with licensed mental health professionals. Together, they respond on-scene to situations involving people who are experiencing a mental health related crisis and have come to the attention of law enforcement. The goal is to provide the most clinically appropriate resolution to the crisis by linking people to the least restrictive level of care that is appropriate and to help prevent the unnecessary incarceration or hospitalization of those seen.

PERT is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and is a subsidiary of the Community Research Foundation (CRF).

 PERT's primary purposes are:

• Provide clinical support to law enforcement and the community for calls involving persons having a mental health crisis via PERT teams.
• Provide education and training to law enforcement on issues related to mental health and mental health related crises.
• Provide collaboration between law enforcement and the mental health system of care and mental health community.