Florida Police Department to Send Social Workers to Non-Violent Calls

A police patrol car drives through a residential neighborhood in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Sept. 9, 2017. Brian Blanco/Getty Images

A police department in Florida is opting to send city employees to respond to 911 calls that don’t involve violence.

The employees will work for a new division within the St. Petersburg Police Department called the Community Assistance Liaison. It was described by the police department as “a social service agency.”