Wilkinson named 2020 CIT Officer of the Year

The Wake Forest Police Department (WFPD) recently named Officer First Class Rob Wilkinson as its 2020 Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) Officer of the Year.

A specialized law enforcement program, the CIT is a partnership between 17 Wake County law enforcement agencies, Wake County Human Services and the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The initiative is designed to develop a more effective, compassionate and safer approach to interacting with people suffering from a mental illness or developmental disability crisis.

The CIT provides 40 hours of specialized training to sworn law enforcement officers. The training helps officers identify individuals in a mental health crisis and utilize effective techniques to deescalate crisis situations. As a result, there are fewer incidents of incarceration of persons with mental illness for misdemeanor charges, and fewer injuries to both officers and individuals with mental illness. In Wake County, more than 500 officers have been certified.

“Officer Wilkinson was selected as the WFPD CIT Officer of the Year due to his overall work performed as both a CIT officer and a Veteran in Crisis Intervention Team (VCIT) officer,” said Lt. Chris Minor. “He has provided countless positive interactions with numerous clients to include military members during crisis events.  His calm demeanor and ability to establish communications and rapport with persons of varying backgrounds has led to successful outcomes with both voluntary and involuntary encounters. “

Every law enforcement agency in Wake County selects its CIT Officer of the Year.

Officer Wilkinson was also selected as the 2020 Wake County CIT Co-Officer of the Year.