Send Clinicians, Not Cops? Inside Denver’s STAR

In response to the increasing frequency of mental health crises and nonviolent emergencies, many U.S. cities have launched initiatives to divert certain emergency calls away from law enforcement. Denver’s Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program is at the forefront of this movement. Staffing clinically trained behavioral health professionals alongside paramedics, STAR addresses mental health, homelessness, poverty, and substance use crises with a trauma-informed, community-centered approach. This essay explores STAR’s inception, operations, outcomes, challenges, and broader implications as an alternative to traditional policing in emergency response. Origins and Development of STAR

Denver’s STAR program was launched in June 2020, modeled on the successful CAHOOTS initiative in Eugene, Oregon. The pilot was funded by the Caring for Denver Foundation and supported by partnerships between Denver’s Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver Health, WellPower, and Denver 911. The goal was to create a third pathway—beyond police and conventional EMS—for responding to low-risk behavioral health and social distress calls.

During its initial six-month pilot, responding to roughly 748 calls, the program showed early promise: no arrests, no police backup, and a potential reduction of about 2.8% in police service calls. Encouraged by these early results, STAR expanded operational capacity, staff, and geographic reach.

How STAR Operates

STAR teams consist of a behavioral health clinician paired with an EMT or paramedic, operating in unmarked vehicles and plain clothes to reduce stigma and perceived threat. Dispatchers screen incoming 911 calls and divert appropriate “STAR-eligible” cases to this alternative response team.

As of February 2024, STAR staff included 16 clinicians and 16 EMTs/paramedics, operating eight vans. The program runs daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., with expansion toward 24/7 coverage anticipated by 2025. STAR addresses a spectrum of needs—mental health triage, de-escalation, transportation to care, and resource connection. In early years, around 41% of individuals were referred to formal treatment, and 38% were transported to community services.

Program Scale & Evolving Impact

By 2025, STAR had logged over 14,000 encounters and served more than 8,500 individuals. Of the approximately 12,000 clinical contacts recorded between June 2020 and December 2024, only 3% resulted in a mandatory psychiatric hold. In contrast, roughly 30% triggered transport and linkage to services, and about 50% resulted in referrals to community-based care.

Moreover, between June 1, 2020, and June 3, 2025, STAR responded to 25,144 incidents, signaling substantial integration into Denver’s 911 system.

Community and System Benefits

STAR’s benefits span multiple domains:

1. Diverting Vulnerable Populations from Criminal Justice
   STAR’s clinical teams can de-escalate situations without criminalization—minimizing police involvement, jail risk, and other adverse outcomes.

2. Operational Efficiency for First Responders
   City officials note that redirecting low-risk behavioral health calls to STAR frees law enforcement, EMS, and firefighters to focus on high-acuity emergencies.

3. Criminal Justice Outcomes
   A Stanford-led study found a 34% decrease in low-level criminal offenses in neighborhoods served by STAR during its pilot, equivalent to roughly 1,400 fewer reported offenses.

4. Innovation Model for Other Cities
   Denver positions STAR as a national exemplar. Surveys found consensus that “sending police to deal with every social problem simply isn’t working.” The program exemplifies creative, multi-stakeholder public safety innovation.

Challenges and Limitations

Despite its successes, STAR faces notable challenges:

• Limited Hours and Funding Constraints
  Operating only from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., STAR lacks full 24/7 availability due to funding limitations. Denver’s STAR budget was around $7.2 million, including city and grant support. Expansion would require additional investment.

• Dispatcher Reliance and Call Screening
  Effectiveness depends on accurate triage by 911 dispatchers—misclassification can lead to safety issues or mismatches in response.

• Need for Community Involvement
  Some community advocates question the pace and transparency of STAR’s expansion, advocating for stronger public input via advisory boards. Denver is now moving to formalize such bodies.

Broader Context and Replication

Denver is part of a broader trend toward non-police crisis response. Cities like New York (B-HEARD), San Francisco, Minneapolis, and others are piloting or expanding similar models, often inspired by CAHOOTS and STAR. Yet challenges with staffing, funding, and dispatcher workflows persist.

STAR’s success illustrates the effectiveness of a clinical, de-escalating approach—particularly in a time where overreliance on policing is increasingly scrutinized.

Conclusion

Denver’s Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program represents a bold reimagining of first response—substituting clinicians and EMTs for police in low-risk behavioral health and social emergencies. Since its 2020 launch, STAR has expanded significantly, delivering over 25,000 responses, reducing crime, and fostering community trust. Its low psychiatric hold rate and high referral rate speak to the success of trauma-informed crisis intervention. Yet continued impact depends on extending operating hours, securing sustainable funding, and deepening community engagement. As more cities look to follow in its footsteps, STAR stands as both a model—and a work in progress—in the shift from law enforcement to healthcare-based emergency support.

Denver Department of Public Health & Environment. (2024, February). Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) Program [Website]. Retrieved from Denver official site

Gillespie, S., Curran‑Groome, W., & Rogin, A. (2024, September 30). Evaluating alternative crisis response in Denver’s Support Team Assisted Response (STAR) program: Interim findings [Brief]. Urban Institute.

WellPower. (2025, June 25). Denver’s STAR Program: Five years of community impact [Blog post]. Retrieved from WellPower website

Stanford study as cited by Axios. (2022, June 22). Study: Denver’s STAR police‑alternative program lowered crime and costs [News article]. Axios.

Axios. (2025, June 9). What’s next for the police response alternative STAR as it turns 5 [News article]. Axios.