SANTA ANA, Ca. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department, in collaboration with the OC Health Care Agency (HCA), is enhancing its crisis call diversion program to more effectively assist individuals experiencing behavioral health disorders.
Beginning in March 2024, Sheriff’s Department dispatchers initiated a process to triage non-violent and non-criminal behavioral health calls for service, directing them to OC Links when appropriate. OC Links, a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week Behavioral Health Line, serves as a crucial entry point to the HCA’s comprehensive care system, offering information, referrals, screenings, and mobile crisis response teams. To date, approximately 240 calls have been successfully diverted, linking individuals in crisis with suitable behavioral health services.
The program is now expanding. Under this refined approach, certain behavioral health-related 9-1-1 calls will be routed directly to a licensed clinician rather than dispatching deputies. Calls determined to be behavioral health-related with no violation of law or threat to public safety will no longer receive a deputy response. This ensures that those in crisis receive immediate, compassionate, and expert care from professionals, while allowing deputies to remain available for calls involving safety risks or criminal activity.
Orange County Sheriff-Coroner Don Barnes stated that "Individuals in crisis who pose no threat to the community do not need law enforcement coming to their door." He emphasized the importance of trained behavioral health clinicians in these situations, helping to keep deputies focused on core public safety duties. Chair Doug Chaffee of the 4th District affirmed that this refined approach ensures people receive appropriate care at the right time. Vice Chair Katrina Foley, 5th District, noted that clinician-led responses connect residents with the best-equipped professionals, allowing deputies to concentrate on crime prevention.
The Sheriff’s Department handles about 10,000 calls each year involving mental health. OC Links remains vital, receiving over 43,789 calls and chats and dispatching more than 10,862 mobile clinical responses in calendar year 2025. OC Links Navigators, who are licensed clinicians and trained behavioral health professionals, answer calls 24/7/365, providing assistance from prevention resources to urgent support.
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento, 2nd District, who has advocated for models pairing clinicians with law enforcement, expressed belief that this approach is an excellent solution for de-escalation and potentially saving lives. Supervisor Don Wagner, 3rd District, highlighted the partnership as an example of effective cross-agency collaboration. Dr. Veronica Kelley, HCA Director and Interim Behavioral Health Services Director, reinforced that a mental health condition is a medical, not criminal, issue, deserving of understanding and care.
The Sheriff’s Department also deploys Behavioral Health Bureau teams with HCA’s Psychiatric Emergency Response Teams (PERT) for proactive community outreach. The HCA’s “First Responders for Mental Health Campaign” continues to promote OC Links, which the public can access 24/7 by calling (855) 625-4657 or (855) OC Links.
