Framework explainer
Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Training, Explained
Crisis intervention team (CIT) training prepares police officers to respond safely to people in a mental-health crisis, using communication and connection to care instead of force. It combines classroom learning, scenario practice, and partnerships with mental-health services, and traces back to the Memphis Model first established in Memphis in the late 1980s.
What CIT is, and where it came from
A crisis intervention team is a police response model for calls involving someone in a mental-health crisis. The idea is simple: prepare a group of officers more deeply in mental-health awareness and de-escalation, pair them with community mental-health services, and aim to connect people to care rather than route them through the justice system.
The model traces to the Memphis Model, the crisis intervention team program established in Memphis in the late 1980s, which most United States programs still follow. In Colorado, CIT-style crisis response is delivered through Colorado CRIT (Crisis Response and Intervention Training). Police crisis intervention training in this tradition is about judgment and communication under pressure, not a script.
This page is an explainer. CodeBlu credits CIT International, the Memphis Model, and the broader crisis-intervention field as public work. CodeBlu is not partnered with, certified by, or endorsed by CIT International or any CIT body.
What officers learn in CIT
Curricula vary, but crisis intervention training for officers generally builds three capabilities.
Recognizing crisis
Spotting the signs that a person is in a behavioral-health crisis, including when a call dispatched as something else is really a crisis call.
Communication and de-escalation
Leading with words: active listening, pacing, and creating time and distance so the encounter can resolve without force.
Connecting to care
Working with mental-health services and co-responders to route a person toward treatment rather than the justice system.
How CIT differs from general de-escalation
De-escalation is the broad communication skill set for calming any volatile encounter. CIT is narrower and deeper: it focuses specifically on mental-health crisis, adds clinical awareness, and builds the partnerships that route a person to care. De-escalation is a skill inside CIT; CIT is the crisis-specific program built around it.
Practice the skills CIT covers
CodeBlu is not a CIT certification. It is a way for officers to rehearse the recognition and communication skills CIT teaches: officers talk through realistic mental-health crisis scenarios by voice with a conversational AI, then get a per-competency after-action review. See how that works in police mental health crisis response training, or try the demo.
Colorado Rule 28 and C.R.S. 24-31-315
Crisis intervention and mental-health awareness are non-perishable topics that can count toward the discretionary 12 hours of the Colorado Rule 28 annual 24, and crisis-response training addresses the de-escalation requirement in C.R.S. 24-31-315. Eligibility is the chief or sheriff's decision. CodeBlu provides training and records but does not submit to POST.
Frequently asked questions
- What is crisis intervention team (CIT) training?
- Crisis intervention team (CIT) training prepares police officers to respond safely to people in a mental-health crisis, using communication and connection to care instead of force. It combines classroom learning, scenario practice, and partnerships with mental-health services, and traces back to the Memphis Model first established in Memphis in the late 1980s.
- What is the Memphis Model?
- The Memphis Model is the original crisis intervention team program, developed in Memphis in the late 1980s by police working with mental-health professionals and advocates. It set the template most United States CIT programs still follow: specially prepared officers, a partnership with mental-health services, and a focus on connecting people to care. CodeBlu credits this public work and is not affiliated with it.
- How long is CIT training?
- The traditional CIT course is commonly delivered as a 40-hour week of instruction and scenario practice, though the exact length and curriculum vary by state and agency. Many agencies also reinforce the skills with shorter refresher and scenario sessions over time rather than treating CIT as a one-time event.
- Does crisis-intervention training count toward Colorado Rule 28 or C.R.S. 24-31-315?
- Crisis intervention and mental-health awareness are non-perishable topics that can count toward the discretionary 12 hours of the Colorado Rule 28 annual 24, and crisis-response training addresses the de-escalation requirement in C.R.S. 24-31-315. Eligibility is the chief or sheriff's decision. CodeBlu provides training and records but does not submit to POST.
See crisis-response practice in action
Try the demo scenario, or read how CodeBlu trains the mental-health crisis skills CIT covers.