Summary
"The first part of this report looks at the nature of
the problem, by first looking at why more people
with a mental illness are coming into contact with
the police, and identifying a number of factors
that have contributed to this trend. The report
then looks at some of the factors that create
barriers to effective police response to persons with
mental illness, and next, looks at two key issues
that have resulted from this state of affairs:
criminalization and injury or death of persons
with mental illness (as well as serious personal
consequences for the police officers involved).
The second part of the study looks at solutions,
describing different intervention “prototypes”
designed to assist individuals who are in
psychiatric crisis who come into contact with the
police, and identifying key attributes of each
model, and key attributes of successful programs
in general."--Page 30.
Contents
Part 1. The nature of the problem -- Section A. Why police are interacting more with people who have a mental illness -- Section B. Barriers to effective interactions -- Section C. Impacts of the situation on people with mental illness -- Part 1. Summary -- Part 2. Solutions -- Section A. Situations and actions that precede change -- Section B. Specialized responses involving police and the mental health system -- Section C. Program components contributing to success -- Part 3. Conclusions and recommendations -- Appendix 1. Outcomes -- Appendix 2. Other non-specialized approaches to achieving collaboration -- Appendix 3. Staged intervention continuum -- Appendix 4. Websites providing useful information about policing and mental illness -- Appendix 5. People interviewed or who provided information for this project.