scholarly journals Redefining Police Interactions with People Experiencing Mental Health Crises: Models of Response

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Health Resources ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Police Decision Making ◽  
Race Disparities ◽  
Police Interactions

In many communities, police are the first and only available responders to mental health crises. Dissatisfaction with this arrangement among all stakeholders, concerns about the criminalization of mental illnesses, and recent evidence that at least one in four people killed in encounters with police have a serious mental illness, have all maintained attention to this issue among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. The scholarship in this area dates back to the 1960s and has examined the nature and characteristics of police interactions with people with mental illnesses and those experiencing mental health crises, police decision making, use of force, and call resolutions. As models of police–mental health collaboration have emerged, the literature describing different models and their implementation and outcomes had grown, as has the literature on police mental health and deescalation training. More recently, researchers have sought to understand the experiences of people with mental needs in these encounters, and the response model preferences of service users and caregivers. While progress has been made in terms of improving the abilities of police officers to respond to mental health crises, a consistent theme across the literature is the lack of adequate mental health resources for people with mental health needs in the community and as options for officers to resolve mental health crises. For the most part, there is a gaping absence of literature exploring race disparities leading up to mental health crises or in police response to them. However, the current Black Lives Matter movement and calls to “defund” police suggest an urgent need to shift responsibility for mental health crisis response away from law enforcement. Government and private nonprofit groups are working to develop frameworks and guidelines for developing capacity in the mental health system to take on the primary responsibility. This work must be done through a race equity lens.

Policing mental illness: Police use of section 136 – Perspectives from police and mental-health nurses

2021 ◽  
pp. 002580242199336
Author(s):  
Meron Wondemaghen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Health Care Policy ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Data Sources ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Care Policy ◽  
Mental Health Nurses ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Pilot Scheme

Ideological shifts in mental health-care policy such as deinstitutionalisation have meant police have had to make decisions about the care of persons with a mental-health crisis. This study examines how police in five English counties respond to crisis calls when employing the powers afforded in section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983, and the effectiveness of the national Street Triage pilot scheme. Qualitative interviews with 30 police officers and mental-health nurses (MHN) were collected as data sources. The analysis shows that police have previously struggled with the significant number of crisis calls, whilst also finding mental-health services inadequately sourced, leading to some detentions in police cells as alternatives to health-based places of safety. However, the scheme has made positive changes in alleviating these issues when MHN are co-located with police, highlighting the need to strengthen their partnership by facilitating the sharing of information, responsibilities and decision making in order to ensure police cells continue to be avoided as alternative places of safety.

The 2012 sandy hook elementary school shooting: Connecticut’s department of mental health crisis response

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-450
Author(s):  
Paul DiLeo ◽  
Michael Rowe ◽  
Barbara Bugella ◽  
Lauren Siembab ◽  
James Siemianowski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Elementary School ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
School Shooting ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Sandy Hook Elementary School ◽  
Sandy Hook

A Coordinated Mental Health Crisis Response: Lessons Learned From Three Colorado School Shootings

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franci Crepeau-Hobson ◽  
Kathryn S. Sievering ◽  
Charlotte Armstrong ◽  
Julie Stonis
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
School Shootings ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Colorado School ◽  
Health Crisis

scholarly journals Specialized Police-Based Mental Health Crisis Response: The First 10 Years of Colorado’s Crisis Intervention Team Implementation

2018 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hari-Mandir K. Khalsa ◽  
Attila C. Denes ◽  
Diane M. Pasini-Hill ◽  
Jeffrey C. Santelli ◽  
Ross J. Baldessarini
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Crisis Intervention ◽  
Crisis Response ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Crisis Intervention Team ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Intervention Team ◽  
Team Implementation

scholarly journals Police-related triage interventions for mental health-related incidents: a rapid evidence synthesis

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (20) ◽  
pp. 1-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Rodgers ◽  
Sian Thomas ◽  
Jane Dalton ◽  
Melissa Harden ◽  
Alison Eastwood
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Systematic Reviews ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Evidence Synthesis ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Impact

Background Police officers are often the first responders to mental health-related incidents and, consequently, can become a common gateway to care. The volume of such calls is an increasing challenge. Objective What is the evidence base for models of police-related mental health triage (often referred to as ‘street triage’) interventions? Design Rapid evidence synthesis. Participants Individuals perceived to be experiencing mental ill health or in a mental health crisis. Interventions Police officers responding to calls involving individuals experiencing perceived mental ill health or a mental health crisis, in the absence of suspected criminality or a criminal charge. Main outcome measures Inclusion was not restricted by outcome. Data sources Eleven bibliographic databases (i.e. Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts, Criminal Justice Abstracts, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PAIS® Index, PsycINFO, Scopus, Social Care Online, Social Policy & Practice, Social Sciences Citation Index and Social Services Abstracts) and multiple online sources were searched for relevant systematic reviews and qualitative studies from inception to November 2017. Additional primary studies reporting quantitative data published from January 2016 were also sought. Review methods The three-part rapid evidence synthesis incorporated metasynthesis of the effects of street triage-type intervention models, rapid synthesis of UK-relevant qualitative evidence on implementation and the overall synthesis. Results Five systematic reviews, eight primary studies reporting quantitative data and eight primary studies reporting qualitative data were included. Most interventions involved police officers working in partnership with mental health professionals. These interventions were generally valued by staff and showed some positive effects on procedures (such as rates of detention) and resources, although these results were not entirely consistent and not all important outcomes were measured. Most of the evidence was at risk of multiple biases caused by design flaws and/or a lack of reporting of methods, which might affect the results. Limitations All primary research was conducted in England, so may not be generalisable to the whole of the UK. Discussion of health equity issues was largely absent from the evidence. Conclusions Most published evidence that aims to describe and evaluate various models of street triage interventions is limited in scope and methodologically weak. Several systematic reviews and recent studies have called for a prospective, comprehensive and streamlined collection of a wider variety of data to evaluate the impact of these interventions. This rapid evidence synthesis expands on these recommendations to outline detailed implications for research, which includes clearer articulation of the intervention’s objectives, measurement of quantitative outcomes beyond section 136 of the Mental Health Act 1983 [Great Britain. Mental Health Act 1983. Section 136. London: The Stationery Office; 1983 URL: www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1983/20/section/136 (accessed October 2017)] (i.e. rates, places of safety and processing data) and outcomes that are most important to the police, mental health and social care services and service users. Evaluations should take into consideration shorter-, medium- and longer-term effects. Whenever possible, study designs should have an appropriate concurrent comparator, for example by comparing the pragmatic implementation of collaborative street triage models with models that emphasise specialist training of police officers. The collection of qualitative data should capture dissenting views as well as the views of advocates. Any future cost-effectiveness analysis of these interventions should evaluate the impact across police, health and social services. Funding The National Institute for Health Research Health Services and Delivery Research programme.

Mental Health Crisis Location and Police Transportation Decisions: The Impact of Crisis Intervention Team Training on Crisis Center Utilization

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin B. Comartin ◽  
Leonard Swanson ◽  
Sheryl Kubiak
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Crisis Intervention ◽  
Mental Illnesses ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Crisis Intervention Team ◽  
Promising Alternative ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Intervention Team ◽  
The Impact

Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) research has shown increases in officer transports of individuals with serious mental illness to emergency departments (ED) which, while more appropriate than incarceration, can be expensive and lack linkage to long-term mental health services. Mental health crisis centers offer a promising alternative, but impact may be limited by proximal distance and lack of officer awareness. To address this concern, this study asked, “Does CIT training affect officer transport decisions to a crisis center over a nearby ED?” Researchers analyzed crisis call reports in a Midwestern county and found increased use of the crisis center and decreased use of EDs by officers after CIT was implemented. The crisis location affected officer transport decisions, yet CIT officers were more likely than non-CIT officers to travel farther for appropriate linkage. Findings suggest CIT changes officer behavior, which could potentially lead to long-term, low-cost treatment for individuals with serious mental illnesses when there is a mental health crisis center.

Keeping It REAL: Assisting Individuals After a Police-Abated Mental Health Crisis

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 486-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luke A. Bonkiewicz ◽  
Kasey Moyer ◽  
Chad Magdanz ◽  
John Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Police Officers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Mental Health Workers ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Calls For Service ◽  
Protective Custody

This article evaluates a community-based, peer support program in which police officers and mental health workers collaboratively address citizens’ mental health needs following encounters with law enforcement. We analyzed data 12, 24, and 36 months after a police-abated mental health crisis for 775 individuals, some of whom were referred to this program. Using lagged regression models, we find that compared with nonreferred individuals, referred participants generated fewer mental health calls for service and were less likely to be taken into emergency protective custody 24 and 36 months after a crisis. We found no difference in arrest rates. The program was especially effective for individuals with lengthier mental health histories. This free, voluntary, and nonclinical assistance program appears effective, but it also requires 12 to 24 months before participants and communities reap the benefits.

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