Law enforcement and mental health personnel have a well-designed procedure governing the release and exchange of information to facilitate necessary and appropriate communication while protecting the confidentiality of community members.

Law enforcement and mental health professionals should exchange information about people with mental illnesses who frequently come in contact with the justice system for many reasons: foremost among them, information sharing is essential to achieve desired outcomes by helping responders be more sensitive to individual needs, reduce injury, and enhance their ability to determine next steps. To facilitate an appropriate disposition decision, law enforcement officers should collaborate with mental health professionals to better understand the individual’s mental health needs. Similarly, mental health providers working at receiving facilities can conduct a more effective mental health evaluation if law enforcement officers share their observations regarding the person’s behavior at the scene. In addition to improving the outcomes of specific incidents, sharing information across systems will help program planners as they develop the program and its outcome measures.

The program’s planning committee should carefully consider the type of information needed and existing barriers to its exchange and then develop procedures (and in some cases MOUs) to ensure that essential information is shared in an appropriate manner. These protocols should be reviewed during cross-training sessions, which will provide law enforcement and mental health professionals an opportunity to develop relationships with their counterparts and learn why they need certain information. Agency leaders also can explore the possibility of linking information systems to share certain information either on an ongoing or a one-time basis.¹⁵

Information should be shared in a way that protects individuals’ confidentiality rights as mental health consumers and constitutional rights as potential defendants. The planning committee should determine which personnel have the authority to request and provide information about an individual’s mental health and criminal history. In general, mental health records should be maintained by mental health professionals. Information exchanges should be limited strictly to what is needed to inform an appropriate incident response or disposition, and officers should focus on documenting observable behaviors only. All communications must, of course, comply with state and federal laws requiring the confidentiality of mental health records, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.¹⁶ Cross-training should ensure that program staff understand relevant state and federal regulations about issues such as how medical information is released, secured, and retained.

Individuals with mental illnesses who have been in contact with a mental health agency should be offered an opportunity to provide consent in advance for mental health providers to share specified information with law enforcement authorities if an incident occurs (sometimes called an advance directive).¹⁷ Individuals should be asked if an advance directive exists, and if so what the instructions are and who should be contacted to verify this information.

Officers can play an important role in exchanging information with family members and crime victims by providing explanations about criminal proceedings or diversion programs. They may inform the person with a mental illness and his or her family members about mental health treatment linkages and how to access other services or support groups, such as those related to substance use disorders. Law enforcement officers also can assist victims of crimes committed by people with mental illnesses by providing information about protective orders, victim support groups, and other services.