MIDLAND, Texas — Monday morning, the Midland County Commissioners Court approved what is called a memorandum of understanding.
This agreement essentially means the Midland Police Department and Midland County Sheriff's Office will work with each other as part of a mental health task force.
This group of specialized officers will collaborate with local treatment centers and hospitals - all with the goal of getting citizens the care they need.
"We have a lot of citizens that may be in a mental health crisis. So we're wanting to get them help and treatment that they need without going to jail, keep 'em out of the criminal justice system," Sheriff Gillette said.
Monday marks the beginning of an agreement between the two that will try their best to re-institute a mental health task force after two years when MPD had to drop out of the force.
Local law enforcement officers say they think re-instituting this program will benefit more than just the mental health victims.
"We don't want them to hurt themselves or other citizens, their family members. So that's our main objective is to get to them before that happens," Chief Deputy Rory McKinney said.
This isn't the first time the agencies have teamed up.
The new task force comes two years after MPD had to drop out of the force because they didn't have enough people.
It's a problem they still face today - being understaffed. As of Monday, it's by 34 officers.
City officials told NewsWest 9 Chief Herman is going to try to assign at least one officer to the force.
The sheriff's department has 6 task force officers assigned currently.
Only time will tell how long it takes for the task force to be fully operable.
The first priority is getting Midland PD officers hired, then the agreement has to be approved by city council.
Sheriff Gillette says these mental health task force officers are certified, mental health officers.
They have received mental health training and taken classes with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Education.
If you'd like to become a local police officer for the city, contact Sergeant Jimmy Young at jyoung@midlandtexas.gov