Mayor Solomon, Public Safety Director Ambrose Announce Expansion of JCPD ARRIVE Together Program to Strengthen Mental Health Crisis Response
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Contact: Nathaniel Styer | Communications Director
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Kim Wallace Scalcione | Public Information Officer
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Mayor Solomon, Public Safety Director Ambrose Announce Expansion of JCPD ARRIVE Together Program to Strengthen Mental Health Crisis Response
Expanded partnership with Jersey City Medical Center doubles JCPD involvement & adds more trained officers to help safely connect people in crisis with care
JERSEY CITY, NJ (June 15, 2026) — Mayor James Solomon, Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose, and the Jersey City Police Department today announced the expansion of the JCPD ARRIVE Together program, increasing the department’s participation from two days to four days per week and increasing training to better respond to individuals experiencing mental health and behavioral health crises.
“This expansion is about getting people help before a crisis turns into an injury, an arrest, or a tragedy,”
said Mayor Solomon. “The goal is not to criminalize someone in crisis. The goal is to respond with the right training, the right support, and the right resources so we can protect the individual, their family, our officers, and the broader community. This isn’t the end of our work, just the next step as we build towards comprehensive, seven days-a-week coverage across Jersey City.”
ARRIVE Together, which stands for Alternative Responses to Reduce Instances of Violence & Escalation, pairs specially trained police officers with Jersey City Medical Center Mental Health Screeners to respond to individuals in crisis, conduct follow-up visits, assist with wellness checks, and help connect residents to appropriate care before a situation escalates.
“This is a smarter, safer, and more compassionate way to respond to people who are experiencing a mental health crisis,”
said Director Ambrose. “Our officers are there to make sure the scene is safe, de-escalate when needed, and give the Mental Health Screener the ability to do their job. We do not want to arrest people who need help. We want to get them the support they need before the situation gets worse.”
Following approval from the State and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, Jersey City Medical Center expanded the local program last week to include five Jersey City police officers who now actively work with the Medical Center’s Mental Health Screener four days a week.
Before the expansion, the ARRIVE Together Unit conducted 40 follow-up visits during the month of May while operating two days per week. Since expanding to five officers and four days per week, the Unit has already conducted 20 follow-up visits in one week, doubling the program’s previous capacity.
ARRIVE Together officers respond in plain clothes and are Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT, trained. CIT is a comprehensive training program that teaches officers how to safely and effectively communicate with and de-escalate individuals experiencing psychiatric crises. The training emphasizes empathy, mental health awareness, officer safety, and diversion to community-based services when appropriate.
Some incidents require extended de-escalation, with recent responses lasting up to nine hours as officers worked to safely connect the individual to treatment without using arrest or force.
“This work takes time, patience, training, and restraint,” said JCPD Chief Kearns. “Officers may spend hours trying to get someone the help they need safely. That is the purpose of this program. We are using our training and our partnerships to reduce escalation, reduce unnecessary arrests, and help make sure people don’t fall through the cracks.”
In addition to the ARRIVE Together expansion, JCPD is working with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office to strengthen crisis intervention resources across the department. To date, 129 Jersey City police officers have received crisis intervention resource training focused on connecting individuals with social service providers for mental health, substance abuse, homelessness, and other crisis-related needs.
The City’s combined efforts help reduce escalation, lower repeat call volume, prevent unnecessary arrests, and improve outcomes for individuals and families experiencing crisis.
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Nathaniel Styer
Communications Director | City of Jersey City
[email protected]