How Are Police Expected to Correctly Handle Mental Illness Crises Without Training?
As of 2018, the National Alliance on Mental Health reports 47.6 million adults and 7.7 million between 6-17 in America experienced mental illness. According to Power DMS, 5-15% of annual calls made to law enforcement agencies related to individuals struggling with mental health. Meanwhile, many police officers still lack proper training to approach mental health crises, increasing the likelihood of traumatic experiences to occur. It is necessary to extensively implement Crisis Intervention Team(CIT) programs throughout all police departments to prevent harm.
Usually, individuals contact 911 during mental health crises, whether it be someone threatening to harm themselves, a suicide attempt or erratic behavior, according to Power DMS. Individuals are aggravated in those situations, and when police officers interfere without knowledge on handling the situation, the problem tends to escalate, leaving detrimental effects for both ends. In fact, USA Today reports that people with mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed by police.
Candie Dalton and her son, who has schizophrenia, is a victim of the broken system. She said in an interview with USA Today that when she called the police on her son who threatened her with a knife, her son encountered a traumatic experience.
“I am terrified to call the police when it involves my son," Dalton said. “There were multiple cops aiming their guns at my son until he got on the ground . . . One of the officers later told me that my son was close to having a hole in him so big they could drive a Mack truck through it.”
Intimidating appearances and use of force police officers exude towards these individuals are somewhat expected, considering the amount of training they receive regarding mental health. Michael Woody, former sergeant for Akron, Ohio, and current president of CIT International, said in an NPR interview that education on handling mental illness is merged into 16 hours of “disabilities training,” which covers a wide range of topics, from blindness to schizophrenia. He says he believes officers should receive much more specialized training to effectively de-escalate situations involving the mentally ill.
“The problem stems from a lack of police training, as well as a lack of treatment for those with serious mental illness”, said John Snook, the report's co-author and executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, in an interview with USA Today.
CIT programs are 40-hour programs of educating officers about mental health issues, often led by mental health professionals. While the program is implemented in only about 15% of police departments, studies show CIT programs improved officer attitudes and knowledge on mental illness. To successfully reduce potential fatalities without leaving permanent harm on individuals, there must be an increase in police departments that implement this program.
“I get calls from all over the country, from officers that say, you know what? Lieutenant Woody, that training, it saved my life,” Woody said. “It saved me injury. It saved me from having to take the life of somebody that was mentally ill that I, I know I'd have to live with the rest of my life. And it goes so much better that way.”