In response to the failure to partner with Behavioral Health Resources, WashU plans to create another task force. We need action, not another committee.

The University had plans to partner with Behavioral Health Response, a local non-profit, but the two parties could not come to an agreement.

Washington University plans to adopt some of the recommendations the Public Safety Committee made in February, including training for mental health professionals to handle mental health crises instead of Washington University Police Department officers and the establishment of a 24-hour team of on-call mental health professionals.

After Washington University’s public safety committee released its final report, many of campus’ student activists involved in its creation expressed disappointment in the limited scope of the recommendations.

More than eight months after Chancellor Andrew Martin announced that Washington University would reimagine public safety both on and off campus, the University Public Safety Committee has released its final report.

The committee, composed mainly of University students, staff and faculty, was formed in September 2020 as one of multiple initiatives announced by Chancellor Andrew Martin aimed at promoting racial equity on campus.