Since October 2023, the Lynnfield Community Outreach Team has sought to help community members dealing with mental-health problems and substance-use disorder stay out of the judicial system while getting the help they need.
The team is made up of psychologist Dr. Jennifer Burns and Lynnfield Police officers Capt. Chris DeCarlo, the outreach coordinator; and Patrolmen James Caponigro and Gianfranco Pisano, the outreach officers.
DeCarlo said he created the program when he noticed there were funding opportunities to create a part-time program. Now, he sees an increased need for it.
“We didn’t think there was that much volume that would need a full-time need, but I think what we’re seeing is it’s more work than we thought, which is not a bad thing,” DeCarlo said.
LCOT has an individual line that people can call when a wellness check is needed. DeCarlo said that a team member will also be sent to a dispatch call if an outreach officer is needed at the scene.
“When we show up to your house, we’re in an unmarked cruiser, we’re out of (police) uniform. What we talk to you about is not your neighbor’s business, it’s nobody’s business but yours, so we try to keep it as low-key as possible because we want the people to call us and welcome us into their house,” Caponigro said.
All cases are kept confidential, with a policy in place that keeps information from being shared outside of LCOT.
All officers on the team have received Crisis Intervention and Mental Health First Aid training.
Depending on the case, the team will partner with entities in the community, including community-based health centers, Massachusetts Behavioral Health, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness, to make sure the individual in need gets the help they deserve.
“If we can address the issue before it becomes an issue, then it’s just an issue and not a crime, and the police really aren’t needed,” Caponigro said. “So if we can intervene early on, we stop something that may turn into a crime from ever happening.”
Dr. Burns provided a statistic that 89% of individuals incarcerated have untreated mental-health and/or substance-abuse issues.
Dr. Burns, her granddaughter, Pisano, and Chief Nicholas Secatore run the Lynnfield Community Outreach Table at A Healthy Lynnfield’s “Healthy Living Expo” on May 18.
From left, Patrolmen Gianfranco Pisano and James Caponigro, Capt. Chris DeCarlo, and Dr. Jennifer Burns at the National Night Out.
“Once an individual has a criminal record, or gets into that system, it’s not easy to get out of that system. And if they’re in that system because they have a mental-health prognosis or substance-use disorder, then that’s what needs to be treated and that doesn’t get treated in our system, our judicial system,” Dr. Burns said.
Once the team has done an initial wellness check, its members will then complete follow-ups, and ask the individual how much help they want to receive from the team.
DeCarlo said sometimes an individual will have LCOT set up appointments and reach out to facilities for them. Other times, the individual just needs the contact information and will do the work themselves.
The members of LCOT said their goal is to help those in need get the help they need while avoiding arrest or criminal charges.
“Not that we have that big of a problem in Lynnfield. But, now you’re dealing with a police officer in a ‘I’m not going to arrest you’ type of situation,” Caponigro said. “It’s never not known that we’re the Lynnfield Police, but we’re not here to (take people away). We’re here to make it better.”
Anyone seeking more information or help from LCOT can call (781) 334-8050 or email LCOT@town.lynnfield.ma.us.
