Because the police are expected to be able to deal directly with mentally ill persons on the street, the development of Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) training has been crucial in giving police officers the education they need to respond to situations involving persons with a mental illness, persons in a mental health crisis, persons who have attempted suicide, persons who are threatening suicide, or persons who are emotionally disturbed. In order to best understand CIT, it is imperative to note the statutory definition of mental illness. According to Ohio Revised Code 5122. 01 (2016), mental illness is defined as, “a substantial disorder of thought, mood, perception, orientation, or memory that grossly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity …show more content…
After this fatality, the Memphis CIT model was constructed. According to Watson, Ottati, Draine, and Morabito (2011), “the goals of CIT are to increase safety during mental health crisis calls and to divert individuals with mental illness away from the criminal justice system and to appropriate mental health services”. Aside from forty hours of classroom training and scenarios, a major component of the CIT model is referring people to a mental health facility where they can take advantage of community resources. This also includes police officers transporting people for mental health evaluations. Residential crisis stabilization programs are paramount to modern crisis care. Because of this, police officers need to be familiar with community mental health resources so that they can have a designated drop off place for psychiatric emergencies. This also means that crisis facilities need to have a rapid law enforcement drop-off area where officers can drop a person off quickly, so they can return to their jobs and not be tied up with these calls for hours. A quick turnaround time is critical to providing a viable and good option for police officers that are responding to mental health …show more content…
They not only have to handle such calls with a tactical and safe approach, but they have to handle these people with empathy and understanding. If someone poses as a threat to themselves or others, officers need to be able to gain control of the person without having to call a negotiation team and preferably with a low-lethality method. Interventions they may use include de-escalation, risk assessment, and lethality determination. Officers are also responsible to use good discretion when determining whether a person should enter the mental health system or the criminal justice system. With crisis intervention training, officers can prevent a number of mental health crises by understanding the nature of these calls and can develop better discretion, as well as develop patience and compassion. Sometimes it is better to be patient with a mentally ill person, rather than trying to clear the call as quickly as possible. Patiently managing a situation with a person suffering from severe symptoms of mental illness ensures not just their own safety, but others’ safety as well. Giving the person clear choices during the interaction will also help facilitate a positive and patient interaction. Patiently managing a mentally ill person can prevent detainment, which is a big goal of CIT. Too many mentally ill people are ending up in jails where they receive little to no treatment at
The article “Family Says Man Shot by Officers was Mentally Ill” discusses an incident where Kody Conley, an African-American male experiencing schizophrenia, was shot by two police officers in Omaha, Nebraska. The incident took place after Conly fired a stolen gun near Creighton University campus. After the incident took place near the campus, Conley was taken to CHI-Creighton (Creighton University Medical Center), and is said to be alive. Although he is alive, his family expresses that he is in serious condition and is in a medically induced coma. The author, Miranda Christian, reports the two police officers who shot Conley are on administrative leave, and the Omaha Police Department are currently investigating the incident.
Constantine, R., Andel, R., Petrila, J., Becker, M., Robst, J., Teague, G., Boaz, T. and Howe, A., 2010, ‘Characteristics and experiences of adults with a serious mental Illness who were involved in the criminal justice system’, Psychiatric Services, vol. 61, no. 5, pp. 451-457.
...ng experts to identify mental health symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and identifying if any instances of malingering are present. Evaluating a defendant is essential in understanding whether or not they are capable of following legal proceedings. If an individual is in fact found incompetent, attempts to restore competency are performed through treatments with medication or mental training about legal information that is vital for them to know in their case. It is imperative to acknowledge competency to stand trial cases in the legal system to not only ensure fairness in the courtroom, but offer mentally ill defendants an opportunity to have a lawful trial depending on their psychological state.
The public’s views on mental illness. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Association for Mental Health. Swindle,R.,Heller,K.,& Pescosolido,B.(1997,August). Responses to “nervous breakdowns” in America over a 40-year period: Mental health policy implications. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Sociological Association, Toronto, Ontario.
Dizard’s (2015) newspaper article on the demise of Tanisha Anderson, a mentally ill Cleveland woman in police custody, is evidence of police brutality against the mentally ill. A clear point of understanding in this article is the fact that the police were aware of the victim’s mental illness and yet used an unprofessional method in an attempt to restrain her. The reason why mental health illness is still prevalent in our society is as a results of the stigmatization of the illness that prevents an individual from seeking the proper help. Even in the heightened sense of awareness around the issue of mental health in our society, many mentally ill individuals become victims of abuse on a daily basis. Several researchers have shown the relationship
Spencer, Susan. “Mental Health First Aid: A Concept Whose Time Has Come.” Worcester Telegram & Gazette [Massachusetts] 15 Jan. 2014: n. pag. NewsBank Special Reports. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.
Many times people with an untreated mental illness behave in an abnormal manner that is disturbing to the public, causing them to be perceived as frightening and dangerous which attracts the attention of police officers. Harrington agrees that, “Without the medication they need to keep their illness in check, they sometimes lapse into psychophysics and behave in bizarre ways.”(Harrington) A mentally unstable individual’s perspective of what is, and what is not acceptable varies from that of a healthy person. Therefore, they are unable to comprehend proper public behavior. From public urination to public nesciences, they are charged with misdemeanors and sentenced to jail. Shannon Fiack emphasizes that “There is a fundamen...
When patients are labeled with a mental illness they start to believe they actually have that illness. In more severe cases, misdiagnosis can result in the patient’s death or simply taking their own life. According to Dr. Mercola “Diagnostic errors are just one type of error that occurs in the medical field, and you might be surprised at just how common errors occur. While the 1999 IOM report blamed 98,000 deaths a year on hospital errors, a 2013 study in the Journal of Patient Safety projected that medical errors now account for 210,000 to 440,000 US deaths annually”. To better understand the severity of misdiagnosis, imagine a close family member getting diagnosed with a mental disorder that he or she doesn’t have and from that they decide to take their own life due to unnecessary treatment that is harmful to their
Lamb, H. Richard., Weinberger, Linda E., & Gross, Bruce H. (2004). Mentally ill persons in the criminal justice system: Some Perspectives. Psychiatric Quarterly 75(2): 107-126.
...aluating mental health courts as an ideal mental health intervention. Best Practices in Mental Health, 21-37.
Additionally, correctional psychologists are on-call to handle emergency situations involving mentally ill inmates, such as hostage negotiations and crisis intervention. The treatment of mentally ill individuals in jails and prisons is a prominent concern that is becoming more so as more ill individuals are sentenced to jail and prison stays. Currently, the United States correctional facilities are the largest provider of mental health services. (Reingle Gonzalez, et al.
Police departments would have to hire certain outside professionals such as psychiatrists to train the police officers on how to handle mental health situations or how to recognize the time. Some police departments only train a few specialized members to go on calls with mental health situations to help, but they cannot go on all of the calls. The funds for mental health are not being used correctly. Most funds are going towards mental health institutes or therapies and treatments. Little is going to the police departments.
Several states authorize police officers to arrest mentally ill people who have not broken any law. It is argued that this process is a way to promote public order. Hospitals also transfer mentally ill patients to jail in order to deal with the overflow. It is not uncommon for children to be confined to criminal detention centers because there is a lack of facilities for severely mentally ill children. Relying on the criminal justice systems to be surrogate mental health systems conflicts with the basic notions of justice. (Aufderheide,
New South Wales Police Force, 2011, Mental health intervention team news, brochure, NSW Police Force, New South Wales
Necessary Behavioral Mental Health intervention does not end at the point first responders have successfully contained the actual crisis. The ongoing need for Behavioral Mental Health services will continue for an extended length of time when a traumatic event such as that depicted in the scenario occur. A copious number of individuals will have ...