NCJ Number
196659
Date Published
1997
Length
112 pages
Annotation
This is the trainers guide and model policy for a curriculum designed to guide police officers in responding to people with mental illness.
Abstract
The curriculum consists of seven modules designed for use in recruit or in-service training. The first module, entitled "Mental Illnesses and the Police Response," is designed to improve officers' understanding of the circumstances of people with mental illnesses and the most common reasons for police involvement with them. Module II, "Understanding Mental Illnesses," is designed to improve officers' understanding of mental illnesses and other behavior often confused with mental illnesses. Module III is intended to improve officers' understanding of the Americans with Disabilities Act and how it has increased awareness of the nature of the police response to calls that involve people with mental illnesses. Modules IV and V are designed to improve officers' understanding of options available for resolving encounters with people who have mental illnesses. These include assisting a victim or witness; counseling, release, and referral; arrest; and voluntary or involuntary emergency mental evaluation. The police also have a role in involuntary commitment orders mandated by the courts. Module VI is designed to integrate the police response to people with mental illnesses with community policing, and Module VII does the same with problem-oriented policing. For each of the modules, the instructor is provided an overview of module content, a listing of learning objectives, the length of the session, a listing of participants' materials, and descriptions of learning activities for the module. Appended supplementary information, role play activities, a test of knowledge, and resources for the trainer