Policing and the Mentally Ill: International Perspectives (Advances in Police Theory and Practice)

Police departments in many parts of the world have set up specific programs with crisis intervention teams to facilitate police contact with the mentally ill. Focusing chiefly on jurisdictions in Australia, this volume also examines several of these programs in North America, Europe, and parts of the developing world. The 16 chapters in this book offer a wide range of cross-cultural perspectives on this essential aspect of policing, enabling police practitioners to develop a best practices approach to managing their interactions with this vulnerable segment of the community. Content: Preface -- Notes on contributors -- Introduction / Duncan Chappell -- Developments in North America and europe -- Developing a statewide approach to specialized policing response (SPR) program implementation / Melissa Reuland And Laura Draper -- Improving relationships between police and people with mental illnesses: Canadian developments / Dorothy Cotton And Terry Coleman -- European police and persons with mental illnesses: a review of the contemporary literature / Rhonda Moore -- Developments in Australia -- NSW police force mental health intervention team: forging a new path forward in mental health and policing in the community? / David Donohue And Gina Andrews -- The mental health intervention program: preventing and resolving mental health crisis situations / Queensland Police Service -- Core requirements of a best practice model for police encounters involving people experiencing mental illness in Australia: a Victorian perspective / Stuart Thomas -- Policing and the mentally ill: victimisation and offending in serious mental illness / Tamsin Short -- The role of mental disorders in use of force incidents between the police and the public / Dragana Kesic -- Mental health crisis interventions and the politics of police use of deadly force / Katrina Clifford -- Mental health frequent presenters: key concerns, case management approaches and policy and program considerations for emergency services / Gina Andrews And Eileen Baldry -- Compounding mental and cognitive disability and disadvantage: police as care managers / Eileen Baldry and Leanne Dowse / Eileen Baldry and Leanne Dowse / Simon Bronitt and Jane Gath -- Police officer mental illness, suicide and the effects of a policing organisation / Stephen Barron -- The developing world -- Community policing and people with mental disorders: responding to developing world challenges in Papua New Guinea / Duncan Chappell -- Reflections on policing and mental health in Africa: integrating and regulating diverse healing and policing systems / Fleur Beaupert -- Policing and mentally ill persons in hong Kong / Sharon Ingrid Kwok, T. Wing Lo and Percy Lee. In countries with democratic traditions, police interactions with the mentally ill are usually guided by legislative mandates giving police discretion and possibly resulting in referrals for assistance and treatment. But all too frequently, the outcome of these interactions is far less therapeutic and leads to a cycle of arrests and ultimately incarceration. Stemming from an initiative in Memphis, Tennessee two decades ago, police departments in many parts of the world have set up specific programs with crisis intervention teams to facilitate police contact with the mentally ill. Policing and the Mentally International Perspectives examines how these types of programs have fared in jurisdictions across the world. The book begins with developments in North America and Europetraditionally the locus of much of the innovation and change in policing and related areas. It demonstrates how a number of jurisdictions in Europe have only recently begun to recognize therapeutic intervention with the mentally ill as a priority issue, and still frequently suffer from a lack of significant resources. The largest section of the book focuses on Australia, where local law enforcement agencies have displayed a remarkable enthusiasm for and commitment to change in their management of interactions with citizens with mental illness. Finally, the book examines the particular challenges of providing humane and effective policing for persons with mental illnesses in parts of the developing world. These challenges often involve dealing with entrenched cultural beliefs and practices based on superstition, fear, and prejudice regarding persons thought to be mentally ill. Interactions between police and persons with mental illnesses comprise an important and sensitive aspect of everyday policing. The 16 chapters in this book offer a wide range of cross-cultural perspectives on this essential aspect of policing, enabling police practitioners to develop a best practices approach to managing their interactions with this vulnerable segment of the community.