MedPage Today

June 8, 2022

A pilot program in Denver that had healthcare workers respond to certain emergency calls instead of police reduced less serious crimes by an estimated 34%, with no effect on more serious crimes, researchers found.

The Support Team Assistance Response (STAR) program prevented an estimated 1,400 criminal offenses over a 6-month study period beginning in June 2020, Thomas Dee, PhD, and James Pyne, PhD, of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California reported in Science Advances.

https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/publichealth/99135