A joint city-county task force wants to change what happens when Knoxville residents call 9-1-1 for help that is urgent but not dangerous. The group is urging Knoxville and Knox County to launch an alternative first-responder program that would send unarmed, specially trained community responders to low-risk calls. The recommendation is laid out in a task-force plan that was finalized late last year and circulated to local officials this week. Backers say the move would let police focus on violent crime while steering people in crisis toward services and follow-up care instead of handcuffs.
What the task force recommends
The Alternative Response Taskforce’s Business and Service Delivery Plan calls for a new “community responder” program staffed by…..