Psychologists have long played an important role in policing, including assessing the mental health of officer candidates, counseling officers who may be struggling after suffering traumatic incidents, and informing efforts to reduce aggressive and biased policing. Now, after an increase in mental health–related cases and incidents that have brought into question the adequacy of officers’ training to respond to mental health crisis calls, police and clinicians are collaborating more closely on emergency call responses. While George Floyd’s murder at the hands of an aggressive and biased police officer in May 2020 and widespread concerns about police brutality are part of what is prompting more departments to adopt a different approach, concerns about law enforcement’s relationship with mentally ill individuals aren’t new. It’s estimated that at least 20% of police calls for service involve a mental health or substance use crisis, and for many departments, that demand is growing. In a nationwide survey of more than 2,400 senior law enforcement officials conducted by Michael C. Biasotti, formerly of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police , and the Naval Postgraduate School, around 84% said mental health–related calls have increased during their careers, and 63% said the amount of time their department spends on mental illness calls has increased during their careers. More than half reported the increased time is due to an inability to refer people to needed treatment. Referring to appropriate mental health resources—and following up on progress—takes time and resources that already strained police, especially those from smaller departments, don’t always have. As a result, more police departments are teaming with mental health clinicians—including psychologists—out in the field or behind the scenes via crisis intervention training. When these groups collaborate well, people with mental illness in crisis can access mental health care more easily, police experience less trauma and stress, and clinicians have an opportunity to make an even bigger difference in the community. Early data also indicate that these partnerships are making communities healthier, safer, and more financially secure. “Problems come up when mental health and law enforcement only work side by side but not together,” said Joel Fay, PsyD, ABPP, a former police officer who is now a police psychologist in San Rafael, California. “The more they can work together with people with mental illness, the better off we’ll all be.” Crisis intervention training One of the most common models police departments use to fold mental health expertise into emergency calls is crisis intervention training. In this system, psychologists and other clinicians train police officers on how to determine if an incident they are responding to involves mental illness, apply appropriate de-escalation skills, and triage cases that require psychological intervention rather than making arrests and incarcerating the mentally ill. In Miami-Dade County, Florida, for example, police officers attend a 40-hour program led by a mental health counselor and facilitated by other relevant experts. A representative from the National Autism Association teaches officers about how to interact with neurodivergent individuals, for example, and several local psychologists and psychiatrists offer background about mental illness—such as how to differentiate between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Miami-Dade County liaison police officers also meet frequently with local clinicians to improve continuity of care. It can be frustrating for officers to respond to call after call involving the same members of the community and see that they aren’t getting the care they need, said Steven Leifman, JD, a judge in Miami-Dade County who works closely with the officer training program and is an advocate for keeping people with mental illness out of jail. “This ongoing communication empowers police to want to do the [mental health] program because they know we’re listening,” Leifman said. Question What actions could you take as a citizen to ensure that mental health crisis teams are available to assist police dispatchers and law enforcement in responding to 911 calls
Psychologists have long played an important role in policing, including assessing the mental health of officer candidates, counseling officers who may be struggling after suffering traumatic incidents, and informing efforts to reduce aggressive and biased policing. Now, after an increase in mental health–related cases and incidents that have brought into question the adequacy of officers’ training to respond to mental health crisis calls, police and clinicians are collaborating more closely on emergency call responses.
While George Floyd’s murder at the hands of an aggressive and biased police officer in May 2020 and widespread concerns about police brutality are part of what is prompting more departments to adopt a different approach, concerns about law enforcement’s relationship with mentally ill individuals aren’t new.
It’s estimated that at least 20% of police calls for service involve a mental health or substance use crisis, and for many departments, that demand is growing. In a nationwide survey of more than 2,400 senior law enforcement officials conducted by Michael C. Biasotti, formerly of the New York State Association of Chiefs of Police , and the Naval Postgraduate School, around 84% said mental health–related calls have increased during their careers, and 63% said the amount of time their department spends on mental illness calls has increased during their careers. More than half reported the increased time is due to an inability to refer people to needed treatment. Referring to appropriate mental health resources—and following up on progress—takes time and resources that already strained police, especially those from smaller departments, don’t always have.
As a result, more police departments are teaming with mental health clinicians—including psychologists—out in the field or behind the scenes via crisis intervention training. When these groups collaborate well, people with mental illness in crisis can access mental health care more easily, police experience less trauma and stress, and clinicians have an opportunity to make an even bigger difference in the community. Early data also indicate that these partnerships are making communities healthier, safer, and more financially secure.
“Problems come up when mental health and law enforcement only work side by side but not together,” said Joel Fay, PsyD, ABPP, a former police officer who is now a police psychologist in San Rafael, California. “The more they can work together with people with mental illness, the better off we’ll all be.”
Crisis intervention training
One of the most common models police departments use to fold mental health expertise into emergency calls is crisis intervention training. In this system, psychologists and other clinicians train police officers on how to determine if an incident they are responding to involves mental illness, apply appropriate de-escalation skills, and triage cases that require psychological intervention rather than making arrests and incarcerating the mentally ill.
In Miami-Dade County, Florida, for example, police officers attend a 40-hour program led by a mental health counselor and facilitated by other relevant experts. A representative from the National Autism Association teaches officers about how to interact with neurodivergent individuals, for example, and several local psychologists and psychiatrists offer background about mental illness—such as how to differentiate between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
Miami-Dade County liaison police officers also meet frequently with local clinicians to improve continuity of care. It can be frustrating for officers to respond to call after call involving the same members of the community and see that they aren’t getting the care they need, said Steven Leifman, JD, a judge in Miami-Dade County who works closely with the officer training program and is an advocate for keeping people with mental illness out of jail. “This ongoing communication empowers police to want to do the [mental health] program because they know we’re listening,” Leifman said.
Question
What actions could you take as a citizen to ensure that mental health crisis teams are available to assist police dispatchers and law enforcement in responding to 911 calls?
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