Police as a community mental health resource

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Criminology
• Public Health

Background:

• Police are frequently the first point of contact for families seeking help with mental health crises.
• Nearly 50% of individuals with mental illness in Baltimore utilize law enforcement in their pathway to state psychiatric care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the reasons behind families' reliance on police for mental health issues.
• To compare individuals who accessed psychiatric care via police versus conventional medical routes.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of first-admission psychiatric patients.
• Categorization based on whether police or medical resources were utilized for initial contact.
• Analysis of patient and family decision-making factors.

Main Results:

• Families opt for police intervention when community mental health services are inaccessible or unwilling to treat "recalcitrant" (uncooperative) patients.
• Police serve as a de facto crisis intervention resource for individuals with mental illness.

Conclusions:

• The police play a critical role in managing mentally ill patients who are reluctant to engage with traditional mental health services.
• Enhanced community mental health programs are needed to address the needs of uncooperative patients and reduce reliance on law enforcement.