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SoCal Connected
LAPD's SMART Unit Focuses on Mental Illness
For 10 years, the Los Angeles Police Department has had a program aimed at dealing with people with mental illness before they have a chance to do harm. The program, called the Systemwide Mental Assessment Response Team, or SMART, pairs a mental health professional with a police officer. Officers Charles Dempsey and Chuck Lennontalk to Val to explain how it works.
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