In response to the fact that the majority of calls the University of Texas at Austin Police Department receive involve some sort of mental health element, the department decided to form a four-officer team specially trained to respond to mental health calls. The police department has said that it continues to see an increase in 

The University Crisis Intervention Team at UT Austin aims to handle mental health calls with sensitivity, empathy, and as little escalation as possible.

According to the university, the crisis intervention staff are certified mental health officers that have received specialized training beyond that of other police officers and go through courses in de-escalation, crisis negotiation, mental health and first aid.