Mental Illness and the Police

To the Editor:

Recently, there has been a crisis of confidence in the ability of the criminal justice system and the police system to act fairly toward persona of all races, religions, and ethnicities. This is also true of persons with disabilities. Particularly of suspects of persons with mental illnesses, including schizophrenia, autism, and developmental disabilities, it can be very difficult for untrained officers to distinguish between criminality and mental illness.

Ethical criminal justice leaders must be aware of the need not simply to be tough on crime but also to act with compassion, fairness, and justice to all persons, including suspects. According to the Treatment Advocacy Center (2018), suspects with mental illness are 16 times more likely to be killed by law enforcement. It is critical that criminal justice leaders are given the tools to identify the signs of non-threatening mental illness so officers do not confuse them with aggression, and so they have the ability to deescalate potentially dangerous situations.

Admitting there is a problem is the first step. In fact, law enforcement officers may not always be the most appropriate personnel to deal with dangerous situations such as suicides or with persons acting in strange but non-aggressive ways. Learning from instructive examples in law enforcement across the nation may be useful. New York City has piloted a program which dispatches mental health specialists and paramedics to nonviolent emergencies involving the mentally ill versus police, which has been credited with substantially reducing the number of deaths (Shivram, 2021). Ethical leadership means having the humility to admit when another expert may have greater knowledge in a particular area, including mental health personnel in regards to how to manage a crisis encounter with a mentally ill person.

According to a 2021 report by NPR, “In 95% of cases, people accepted care from the [Behavioral Health Emergency Assistance Response Division] B-HEARD team, data from the city shows. That's compared with 82% for traditional 911 response teams, which include police” (Shivram, 2021, par.6). The presence of police itself can escalate tensions and spark fear in the hearts of mentally ill persons, who may have had negative encounters with the police before, or lack the capacity to determine if someone is being helpful or hurtful to them.

The first step of an ethical police officer and ethical leadership is able to understand and be able to identify mental illness, and not assume that the subject is being criminal. Once the suspect is apprehended, the officers should be aware of potential responses of individuals with different mental disorders, such as sensory or communication issues in individuals on the autistic spectrum, or aggressive issues in persons who may have neurological conditions or paranoid or delusional disorders. Finally, officers should be aware of the need to refer non-criminal suspects to mental health personnel who can reduce the risk of harm to the suspect or others.

Police officers ultimately serve the community. Serving the community means serving individuals who are suffering from mental illness, and protecting those individuals just as they protect other members of the community. Unfortunately, because of the difficulties officers grapple with every day, they may be inclined to suspect the worst whenever they spot someone who may be talking or acting strangely. But this is not always helpful when treating the mentally ill.