Note
"December 2012"--Title page.
"A report prepared by the Council of State Governments Justice Center for the Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice"--Title page.
Summary
"State legislatures create the laws that authorize police powers for emergency
mental health evaluations and custody. The allocation of many mental health resources is
coordinated at the state level as well. State-level organizations have been well positioned
to create incentives for innovative partnerships among law enforcement agencies, the
community, and the mental health system. These incentives have distinct benefits over
state mandates that may not include adequate funding support. Coordinating
specialized policing response (SPR, pronounced “spur”)
efforts
statewide can also facilitate regional pooling of resources, which helps ensure that smaller or
rural agencies can implement this type of program.
This paper describes how statewide coordination efforts are structured in three
states—Connecticut, Ohio, and Utah—and synthesizes their successes and challenges in
coordinating this work. The purpose of the document is to provide readers with a description
of how statewide efforts can be organized and play a role in supporting SPRs within their
borders."--Page viii.
Contents
1. The structure of statewide efforts -- 1.1. Lead agency type -- 1.1.1. Advocacy agency as lead -- 1.1.2. Mental health agency as lead -- 1.1.3. Law enforcement agency as lead -- 1.2. Staffing and resources --1.2.1. Program staffing -- 1.2.2. Resources. -- 1.2.3. State-level partners -- 2. The objectives of statewide efforts -- 2.1. Supporting local agencies to develop a SPR -- 2.1.1. Recruiting new jurisdictions -- 2.1.2. Enlisting existing programs -- 2.1.3. Coordinating efforts of smaller jurisdictions -- 2.2. Encouraging local agencies to adhere to key SPR elements -- 2.2.1. Collaboration at the local level -- 2.2.2. Training -- 2.2.3. Law enforcement and mental health agency response policies -- 2.3.
Sustaining efforts statewide -- 2.3.1.
Providing expertise -- 2.3.2.
Planning for personnel turnover -- 2.3.3.
Engaging government officials -- 2.3.4.
Conducting evaluation research --
Conclusion:
the future of statewide efforts --
Appendix A.
CIT policy from Hartford (CT) Police Department --
Appendix B.
Statewide coordination of specialized policing
responses.