Law enforcement agencies face special challenges when responding to persons affected by mental illness or in crisis. Often, the responding individuals are not only operating as police officers, but also assuming the responsibility of social workers and other community support roles. As a result, police leaders constantly struggle to identify and develop policies and approaches to address how to best respond to persons affected by mental illness, and officers often lack clear policy direction and training to effectively serve this population. As law enforcement agencies struggle to meet such challenges, the outcomes of these interactions have lifelong implications for the people involved because they can lead to the injury or death of the individual in crisis, other community members, or the officers involved. Beyond the potential for physical injury or worse, the damage to meaningful, trusting relationships between police departments and their communities can take years to repair.

As they respond to persons affected by mental illness, law enforcement officers put forward their best effort to manage situations resulting from a history of mental health policy and legislative decisions made by federal and state governments. For example, the lack of funding for psychiatric facilities can result in persons affected by mental illness moving out of treatment and onto the street—where, without proper mental health services, they may cycle in and out of the criminal justice system. Of equal concern, law enforcement agencies often find themselves on the frontline of addressing individuals facing mental health crises. There is a clear and present need for the improvement of prevention and treatment programs so that persons affected by mental illness do not encounter representatives of the criminal justice system prior to receiving the treatment they need. Until this need is met, however, police departments need concrete strategies to confront the challenges officers face every day.

Additionally, police leaders must recognize and address the societal, cultural, and technological changes that impact law enforcement responses to persons affected by mental illness. Such changes include the increased use of social media, heightened media scrutiny of law enforcement activities, increased synthetic drug abuse, and expanded mental health insurance coverage. Law enforcement officers must always be cognizant of the societal context within which they deliver services and respond to calls for assistance; to this end, the relationship between law enforcement and the community is more important than ever. With increased emphasis on community-police relations as a critical component of everyday policing, it is imperative that law enforcement officials are equipped to address all members of the community, including those affected by mental illness, with care and concern.

To address these challenges, in March 2016, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) convened an advisory group of experts to discuss police response to persons affected by mental illness. The principal task was to discuss the problem in depth and create a set of recommendations to help law enforcement agencies effectively manage their officers’ response to persons affected by mental illness. In the course of their work, the advisors identified the urgent need for a new strategy—the IACP’s One Mind Campaign—to create incentives for police agencies to adopt four promising practices to improve law enforcement response to persons affected by mental illness. These promising approaches include

1. partnering with one or more community mental health provider(s) through a clearly defined and sustainable partnership;
2. developing an agency-wide policy on the topic;
3. training 100 percent of sworn officers (and selected non-sworn staff, such as dispatchers) in Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) for Public Safety; and
4. training at least 20 percent of sworn staff (and selected non-sworn staff, such as dispatchers) in the Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) response model.

A crucial strategy of the One Mind Campaign is to create and maintain partnerships between law enforcement agencies, the mental health community, and other key stakeholders. Through these partnerships, law enforcement agencies can develop written policies and identify multidisciplinary programs to divert individuals affected by mental illness to community mental health services instead of into the criminal justice system. Such policies and programs must be tailored to fit large, midsize, and small law enforcement agencies. Finally, these partnerships will open doors to relevant and affordable training for all stakeholders, including law enforcement officers; non-sworn personnel; mental health providers; persons affected by mental illness and their families; and other community partners such as magistrates, parole officers, teachers, religious leaders, and peer specialists.

Two of the most recognizable strategies stemming from collaboration between law enforcement agencies and mental health experts are the CIT program and MHFA for Public Safety trainings for first responders. Beyond these efforts, many other methodologies exist and can be tailored to meet the needs of individual communities, such as co-responder teams, mobile crisis teams, and case management teams. Each approach has a unique focus, but all initiatives seek to effectively integrate the strategies of both police officers and mental health experts to decrease the need for use of force against persons affected by mental illness. Tactics to facilitate successful interactions between law enforcement officials and individuals facing mental health crises include de-escalation techniques; diversion programs; and key partnerships with clinics, schools, mental health providers, courts, and other stakeholders—all of which are critical elements to improving services to persons affected by mental illness. Many successful diversion programs, such as the Diversion First program in Fairfax County, Virginia, focus on risk-based decision-making that favors diversionary strategies and treatment over arrest and incarceration.

The advisory group designed the IACP’s One Mind Campaign as a collaborative effort that is not limited to law enforcement organizations. Mental health experts in the advisory group—including physicians, social workers, advocates, and policy makers—represent organizations that are committed to working alongside law enforcement to confront the challenge of improving community-police interactions in their respective professional communities. Additionally, the One Mind Campaign is based on local initiatives, so contributors should understand it will be implemented in various ways around the world and among major, midsize, and smaller law enforcement agencies.

Through the creation of innovative and sustainable partnerships between mental health and law enforcement professionals, there can be enhanced delivery of mental health services and increased levels of safety for law enforcement officials and members of the community. A reduction in potential officer and civilian fatalities and injuries resulting from law enforcement encounters with persons affected by mental illness is a crucial step toward building trust within the community. These strategies, if implemented properly, will better serve and improve the well-being of persons affected by mental illness, their families, and their neighborhoods, as well as enhance the quality of overall community-police relations.

Law enforcement agencies who wish to join the One Mind Campaign should visit the campaign webpage (www.theiacp.org/OneMindCampaign) and take the pledge by submitting a pledge form. A link to the pledge form is included on the webpage, along with resources to help agencies complete the four strategies. ♦