An Academic-based Training Initiative to Improve Police Responses for People with Mental Illness and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Law enforcement officers routinely are the first responders to incidents involving people with mental illness (MI) and, notably, up to 10 percent of calls for service involve someone with a severe mental illness. Additionally, it is estimated that 87 percent more resources are used for calls for service involving a person with MI. It is also estimated that 1 in 4 jail inmates and 1 in 7 state and federal prisoners met the threshold for serious psychological distress (SPD) compared to 1 in 19 persons in the general U.S. general population, and females held in prisons or jails were more likely than males to have met the threshold for SPD or to have a history of mental health problems. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can present to law enforcement officers as people with signs and symptoms of MI, but may be more accurately described as people who have IDD or both MI and IDD. People who have IDD may require different responses by law enforcement officers and may have different service needs, and they can be both perpetrators and victims. The rate of violent victimization against people with disabilities was 2.5 times higher than those without disabilities. Therefore, increasing and enhancing law enforcement capacity to appropriately respond to incidents involving people with MI and IDD can reduce the frequency of officer and subject injury. As such, BJA seeks to provide grant funding to create An Academic-based Training Initiative to Improve Police-Based Responses to People with Mental Illness and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. This initiative focuses on developing academic-based, transdisciplinary crisis intervention training to educate, train, and prepare law enforcement officers so that they are equipped to appropriately interact with people who have MI and IDD in the course of completing their job responsibilities. This training should be developed by an institution of higher education, in conjunction with health care professionals, to provide crisis intervention training that will focus on understanding mental and behavioral health, developing empathy, navigating community resources, and de-escalation skills and practical application training of those skills for all first responders. This grant program will serve as a pilot program, establishing best practices for law enforcement agencies. CA/NCF

The overall purpose of the academic-based training initiative is to enhance and increase crisis response training. Training and education is essential to improve safety outcomes for officers and the communities they serve. This curriculum, and training and technical assistance will prepare and equip law enforcement officers to appropriately interact with people who have mental illness (MI) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the course of completing their job responsibilities.

This continuation work will focus on the selection process of states, tribes, county and local jurisdictions, in coordination with BJA, to receive intensive training and technical assistance (TTA) in the implementation of the revised national curriculum. This project is intended to increase access to training and best practices in rural jurisdictions through the use of technology and e-learning and mobile app(s). TTA will accompany the implementation of developed products through coordination with other BJA-funded TTA providers to ensure that a full range of resources are leveraged.

NCA/NCF

Law enforcement officers routinely are the first responders to incidents involving people with mental illness (MI) and, notably, up to 10 percent of calls for service involve someone with a severe mental illness. Additionally, it is estimated that 87 percent more resources are used for calls for service involving a person with MI. It is also estimated that 1 in 4 jail inmates and 1 in 7 state and federal prisoners met the threshold for serious psychological distress (SPD) compared to 1 in 19 persons in the general U.S. general population, and females held in prisons or jails were more likely than males to have met the threshold for SPD or to have a history of mental health problems.

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) can present to law enforcement officers as people with signs and symptoms of MI, but may be more accurately described as people who have IDD or both MI and IDD. People who have IDD may require different responses by law enforcement officers and may have different service needs, and they can be both perpetrators and victims. The rate of violent victimization against people with disabilities was 2.5 times higher than those without disabilities. Therefore, increasing and enhancing law enforcement capacity to appropriately respond to incidents involving people with MI and IDD can reduce the frequency of officer and subject injury. As such, BJA seeks to provide grant funding to create An Academic-based Training Initiative to Improve Police-Based Responses to People with Mental Illness and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

This initiative focuses on developing academic-based, transdisciplinary crisis intervention training to educate, train, and prepare law enforcement officers so that they are equipped to appropriately interact with people who have MI and IDD in the course of completing their job responsibilities. This training should be developed by an institution of higher education, in conjunction with health care professionals, to provide crisis intervention training that will focus on understanding mental and behavioral health, developing empathy, navigating community resources, and de-escalation skills and practical application training of those skills for all first responders. This grant program will serve as a pilot program, establishing best practices for law enforcement agencies.

CA/NCF

The role of law enforcement in the United States is characterized by a delicate balance of providing safety, enforcing laws, and serving the community. Among their responsibilities, law enforcement officers are tasked with responding to crisis situations, which may include individuals with behavioral health conditions and/or developmental disabilities. In short, the safe, effective resolution of these incidents can present significant challenges for law enforcement and the community. Over the past several years, efforts have been made towards the development and delivery of training and technical assistance designed to prepare law enforcement agencies in the effective management of crisis situations. However, law enforcement agencies continue to face challenges in the planning, implementation, and sustainment of comprehensive efforts in crisis response. In this context, many law enforcement agencies identify a need for support in training and technical assistance in the development and implementation of training and programs to support multi-layered approaches in crisis response that are founded within evidence-based and best practices.

To address this need, researchers from the Center of Police Research and Policy at the University of Cincinnati (UC) propose to support Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) Grantees who receive funding through the Collaborative Crisis Response Training Program – a competitive program that seeks to implement transdisciplinary crisis response training and programs to educate and prepare law enforcement officers so that they are equipped to interact with people who have behavioral health conditions and/or disabilities. Building upon the work of the Academic Training to Inform Police Responses, the UC team will support the 46 sites selected by the BJA in the preparation and expert review of an implementation plan outlining the development, delivery, and sustainment of crisis response training and programs that are founded upon evidence-based and best practices. Additionally, the UC team will coordinate with a website developer to create an online platform to support site engagement and learning. Finally, the UC team will collaborate with a subcontractor in the development of a Train-the-Trainer companion guide to prepare law enforcement trainers for the delivery of the BJA’s 40-hour Crisis Response and Intervention Training (CRIT). Collectively, this work will prepare law enforcement agencies for the delivery and sustainment of evidence-based and best practices in crisis response training and programs that can enhance police and community responses to individuals with behavioral health conditions and/or developmental disabilities who experience crises.