 |
If accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatment of mental illness are the objectives, law enforcement officers are not the best qualified persons to be service providers. |
Unfortunately, law enforcement officers are, by default, often summoned as first responders to persons exhibiting signs and symptoms of mental illness. That is particularly true if the person is showing violent tendencies. Law enforcement has become the de facto mental health system. Since this response is not likely to change, it makes sense to educate law enforcement officers, their administrators, and their political overseers about making the most effective responses possible.
Toward that end, the Council of State Goverments Justice Center, in partnership with the Police Executive Research Forum, have prepare a 26-page report for the the Bureau of Justice Assistance (US-DoJ). The report is titled Improving Responses to People With Mental Illnesses – The Essential Elements of a Specialized Law Enforcement-Based Program.
The overall objective of the report is to improve the outcomes of the encounters between law enforcement officers and persons showing signs of mental illness.
The report linked above is very likely a follow-on to the Council of State Governments larger The Consensus Project Report, which was released in June 2002.
Addendum on 09-04-2008: Here is a very relevant article from today’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
I know of cases where the first thing the cops did was run the poor kids to the nuthouse to cover up the truth. That is how it works in North Idaho.
Comment by Stebbijo — September 3, 2008 @ 6:44 pm
If a person is behaving strangely, most people won’t call the police unless they believe the person presents a threat to himself or others. If they do call the police, they’re most likely talking to a 9-1-1 calltaker or dispatcher, not to the officer who will be responding. How the call is dispatched to the responding officer helps determine how the officer perceives the call. The Otto Zehm death in Spokane is a useful example of that.
Even when the officer observes the strange behavior personally, the officer has no way of knowing for sure what precipitated the behavior. The officer doesn’t really have enough information to know how to best contact the person. Still, if the officer perceives the person to be a threat to himself or others, the officer is likely to intervene, particularly if the officer is the only responder. Unfortunately, police intervention may aggravate the person’s behavior, but the officer doesn’t have enough information to know for sure. Law enforcement responders in these situations are always between the dog and the fire hydrant.
An objective of the Consensus Project was to better prepare first responders to appropriately and safely deal with persons exhibiting unusual behavior. It’s not up to those responders to diagnose and treat mental illness any more than its their responsibility to diagnose and treat an unidentified medical condition. But if they’re going to intervene, they need the best preparation and support possible to ensure everyone’s safety and to try and get the person to seek and receive help from qualified diagnosticians and treatment providers.
Comment by Bill — September 4, 2008 @ 7:13 am
Mental illness is a touchy subject for sure but way overdone. Cops and lay people can hardly recognize behaviors associated with side effects from prescribed drugs or for that matter a misdiagnosis. Violence is a side effect of pharmecuticals. It is called iatrogenic helplessness – doctor caused. Some get caught up in an intoxication that is deliberate. It becomes a witch hunt because it is big business and it sells on the street.
I strongly reccommend that if you want a different perspective – read Peter Breggin M.D. He has testified before Congress about the various drugs that cause side effects including suicide and has been instrumental in educating some of the public. He is not mainstream because he does not support the pharmacuetical companies thus they hit heavy on him because of their vested interests. Some can only refute his facts by calling him “crazy.” His scientific papers, his journal magazine, and his legal papers are incredible.
Comment by Stebbijo — September 5, 2008 @ 6:31 pm