Suchergebnisse

Many of our children live in communities where violence, fear, and despair are commonplace. This book describes how one city developed a collaborative effort between law-enforcement and mental health professionals in order to help these children and their families

AbstractOutreach emergency teams comprising police officers and mental health professionals can help to avoid criminalization of the mentally ill.

Abstract
Recent discussions around police reform have acquired a significant degree of traction. Within these discussions have been calls to remove the police as primary responders to calls involving persons with perceived mental illness (PwPMI). While previous research shows that ∼1% of all calls for service involve PwPMI, limitations around police data recording practices likely mask the true proportion of PwPMI within and across calls for service. Accordingly, following manual review and text search of qualitative data appended to all calls for service made to a Canadian police service in 2019, we sought to identify the true proportion of calls for police service that involve PwPMI and predict the extent to which PwPMI are involved within and across different call classifications. Our findings reveal that while the 'Mental Health' call classification only comprised 0.9% (n = 397) of calls for service, PwPMI were in fact involved in 10.8% (n = 4,646) of calls. Furthermore, logistic regression models reveal that PwPMI are more likely to be involved in certain call classifications relative to others. Implications for police practice and reform are discussed.

As Law Enforcement officers continue to be bombarded with traumatic incidents on a daily basis, the number of officer suicides continues to rise. In 2016, 108 law enforcement officers committed suicide in the United States (Kulbarsh, 2017). As these numbers increase, Police Departments, Communities and Local Governments must start taking a more proactive role in managing their officer's mental health. Suicide, while a key problem among Law Enforcement, is just the tip of the ice berg. The real issues lie beneath the surface in the form of PTSD, Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse and marital problems. Today almost 19% of the law enforcement population admits to suffering from some form of PTSD (Kulbarsh, 2016). Currently a large majority of these struggling officers admit to using inappropriate coping mechanisms that include "alcohol abuse, substance abuse, anger, impatience, violence and arguments with loved ones" (Larned, 2010, p. 66). Departments need to start by removing the stigma of Mental Health related illnesses in law enforcement by creating an open line of communication then implement mandatory annual mental health checks, provide peer support groups and voluntary counseling services. These types of services will help our officers cope with the traumatic incidents they deal with daily and create healthier happier more successful officers in the long term.

"This book brings to the forefront the realization that a successful police career involves not only surviving the danger involved in policing but also psychological survival. In this book, a mixed approach is employed that includes research and some practical suggestions from practitioners on how best to deal with the police health crisis. It is based on research associated with police mental health together with the subsequent effects on officers' performance, physical health, and lifestyle. It begins by outlining the current challenges faced by police, including increased civil unrest, negative public reactions, and a biological siege brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and depression are reviewed and how these two conditions have been shown to promote negative health issues such as cardiovascular disease and gastrointestinal disorders, comorbid psychological conditions as well as suicide. Resilience is also discussed and its role in ameliorating stress. An overview of factors related to resilience is provided and some of the mechanisms that underpin resilience in police work are examined. Additionally, suggestions are made that may help police organizations foster resiliency in officers. The final chapter asks the question, "Where do we go from here?" The chapter discusses current legislation that will help police deal with the problem of psychological and physical health and suicide. Interventions discussed include the need for wellness programs, reducing stress through the police organization, peers support development, the use of mindfulness as a stress reduction strategy, PTSD mitigation, and reducing the fatigue health effects of shift work"--

Front cover -- Half-title page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Dedications -- Table of Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- Part I: Mental Health Disorders Commonly Encountered in Policing -- Chapter 1: Introduction to Mental Health for Policing Professions -- Chapter 2: Bipolar and Other Mood Disorders -- Chapter 3: Schizophrenia and Other Psychotic Disorders -- Chapter 4: Substance Use Disorders -- Chapter 5: Antisocial and Other Personality Disorders -- Chapter 6: Childhood Conduct and Other Childhood Disorders -- Chapter 7: Paraphilic and Other Sexual Disorders -- Chapter 8: Acute and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders -- Part II: Responding to Mental Health -- Chapter 9: Police Legitimacy, Interpersonal Response, and Community Trust -- Chapter 10: Police Behavioural Response to Critical Intervention and Emergency Situations -- Chapter 11: Police Response to Crisis Involving Suicide Risk: Strategies for Suicide Intervention and Prevention -- Chapter 12: Mental Health Services and Special Intervention Teams -- Chapter 13: Mental Health of Police Professions and First Responders -- Part III: Special Topics -- Chapter 14: The History of Policing and Indigenous Persons in Canada -- Chapter 15: NCRMD Legal and Ethical Issues -- Chapter 16: Letters to Policing Professionals -- Glossary -- Editor Biographies -- Back cover.

Purpose
The issue of mental health and policing is a subject that has been debated from a number of different perspectives. The purpose of this paper is to report on the findings of a case study that explored mental health difficulties and vulnerability within police custody.


Design/methodology/approach
The design of the study was qualitative, and it utilised telephone, semi-structured interviews with all levels of the custody staff. This approach was taken because the aim of the study was to explore how people in different roles within the organisation worked to safeguard vulnerable people in custody.


Findings
The findings from this study identified a number of interesting themes that could be explored further in later studies. Overall, the respondents expressed frustration that vulnerable people find themselves in police custody for low-level crime, when it could have been avoided with improved mental health services in the community. Additionally, the findings demonstrated that despite the processes that are designed to safeguard the detainee, tensions still exist including, timely access to mental health assessments, appropriate training and support for staff and the use of appropriate adults.


Research limitations/implications
Although the study was small in scale, the custody facility delivered detainee facilities for about 5,000 individuals per year. The research and information obtained supported the police lead for mental health to identify opportunities for improving the customer journey, as well as recognising the need for further research to identify how officers and staff relate to vulnerable individuals in contact with the police service.


Originality/value
Despite the limitations of the study, the findings have captured interesting data from a range of professionals working in one police custody suite, and therefore it presents a holistic overview of some key issues around mental health, vulnerability and safeguarding within the context of police custody.

This abstract is incorrect. Please see the corrected abstract here: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/15365042221083001 . This report examines police-public encounters that resulted in the fatal shooting of civilians during 2015 and 2016. How police contact was initiated varies by race/ethnicity, age, sex, mental health status, and whether (or how) the individual killed by police was armed with a weapon. This crucial information sheds further light on fatal police shootings.