SEATTLE — The city of Seattle is testing out a new 911 response tactic which deploys social workers and behavioral health specialists alongside police officers.

Dispatchers will have some discretion and not every emergency will call for these civilian specialists. Instead, they’ll focus primarily on reports of a person in crisis or in the midst of a mental health episode.

Seattle’s Senior Deputy Mayor Monisha Harrell says the Dual Dispatch Pilot Program is a work in progress. They’ll learn what works best through trial and error.

“We will fine tune it, until it is successful, until it is the thing we need,” said Harrell. “We have got to gather the data and information and we’ve got to be able to make adjustments before we roll out a larger scale project.”

At this point, Harrell is unsure what training will be mandated for these specialists. The plan though is to get one or two small groups working alongside cops before the end of the year.

“We have long underfunded and under-resourced mental and behavioral health,” said Harrell. “We’ve got to get it right. There’s no option to not get this right.”

The city has allocated $1.5 million from the city budget to fund the pilot.

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This article is from KIRO 7 News.