EAST HELENA — Twenty-one members of law enforcement agencies, including the Helena Police Department, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff's Office, and others, earned their crisis intervention training certifications this week.

Crisis intervention training prepares first responders to help people with mental health struggles, substance abuse challenges, and other behavioral issues.

Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton told MTN that the training is critical for today's law enforcement officers.

“We invest in this training because we want to de-escalate things. We want to treat people with mental illness with respect and get cooperation. If we don't invest in this kind of training, we're returning to the old way, which didn't always end well; this is important to me as Sheriff. This is something well worth the time of to teach people how to react,” said Dutton.

First responders who complete the training get a uniform pin, which is meant to alert members of the public who might be in crisis that they are there to help.