Crisis training for Erie County corrections staff first in WNY

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The Erie County Sheriff’s Office wants more of its correctional staff better trained to handle prisoners with mental health problems, which make up about a third of the people incarcerated at both county facilities, in Alden and the Holding Center downtown.
But this approach is unique, as it’s the first of its kind in all of western New York.
The decline of resources for mental health programs in Erie County has resulted in increased pressure on county ja