For Police, a Playbook for Conflicts Involving Mental Illness
In response to high-profile shootings of people with mental illness, police
departments around the country are turning to crisis intervention training.Yet many police officers know little about mental disorders, and what they do know is often shaped by stigma. Bizarre behavior is often interpreted as a prelude to violence. And routine police actions aimed at control — placing a hand on a person’s shoulder, for example — can backfire with someone with a severe mental illness.
.. Some departments require crisis training for all their officers. But Maj. Sam Cochran, who coordinated the first crisis intervention program in Memphis and now consults with other departments, said he believed the training worked best when departments trained a smaller group of volunteers who then took the lead on police calls involving mental health issues.
“There’s all kinds of specialization in law enforcement,” Major Cochran said. “We’ve got bomb technicians, narcotics, robbery. I want all the officers present at a scene to understand that this C.I.T. officer is the leader. That represents clarity, and responsibility brings about a level of accountability.”