Crisis Intervention Team Mental Health Training for Law Enforcement Officers: Protocol for a Multi-Site, Randomized,...

Area of Science:

• Law Enforcement Training
• Mental Health Response
• Psychology

Background:

• Police frequently encounter individuals experiencing mental health crises.
• Effective de-escalation and procedural justice are crucial for safe interactions.
• The Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) model is widely adopted but lacks rigorous evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the effectiveness of CIT training on officers' crisis de-escalation skills.
• To assess the impact of CIT training on officers' use of procedural justice domains.
• To evaluate changes in disposition-related decision-making following CIT training.

Main Methods:

• A multi-site randomized controlled trial involving approximately 240 officers.
• Officers undergo baseline assessment, receive CIT training (or not), and are reassessed at 3 and 6 months.
• Standardized scenarios with actors portraying various mental health conditions are used to measure outcomes.

Main Results:

• The study will measure changes in officers' verbal and non-verbal de-escalation skills.
• Procedural justice and disposition-related decision-making will be evaluated.
• Hypothesized mediators and moderators of CIT training effectiveness will be assessed.

Conclusions:

• This randomized controlled trial provides a rigorous evaluation of CIT training.
• Findings will inform policy and practice in police response to mental health crises.
• The study addresses critical research gaps regarding CIT effectiveness.