The Crawford County, Wisconsin, Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) has a staff of 47 people, including 15 sworn officers, serving a population of over 16,000 individuals. Crawford County, on average, responds to 16,000-20,000 calls for service a year. Of these calls for service, 3% are related to emergency detention or welfare checks involving individuals in crisis.

Through the Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative (RVCRI) grant, the CCSO will hire a crisis intervention officer. The officer will use de-escalation techniques, adapt to varying situations, and provide resources when applicable. The CCSO will also implement hot spot policing to effectively map out areas where crimes are concentrated in the community and deploy the specialized officer to these areas.