Police and Mental health: Exploring Co-Response Models and Best Practices

Autores

  • Bianca Eloi Palo Alto University
  • Addison Shemin Palo Alto University
  • Anna Feinman University of New Mexico
  • Francesco Yepez-Coello Palo Alto University
  • Jacie Brown Palo Alto University
  • Roshni Joseph Palo Alto University
  • Matthew Schumacher Palo Alto University
  • Bruce Bongar Palo Alto University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56331/ijps.v3i2.8003

Palavras-chave:

Co-response, Mental Health, Police, CIT, crisis, crisis intervention, policing, mental illness, United States.

Resumo

Crisis related to mental health or substance use is creating an increased challenge for emergency departments and law enforcement. Between 5% and 15% of all 911 calls are related to a mental health crisis, making police officers the first to respond and jail or the emergency department the likely outcome[i]. While the responsibility of responding to mental health calls has shifted to law enforcement agencies, there remains concern about training for both mental health clinicians and law enforcement on interventions and effectiveness in how to respond to an individual in a mental health crisis. Several versions of police-mental health partnership programs were created to address the need for community mental health response. Several jurisdictions have chosen to implement different contexts and forms of co-response programs, and the lack of research regarding the outcomes has created questions as to the effectiveness of co-response programs [ii]The mental health responders that comprise one-half of the co-response team are integral to the success of this type of programming. Because there is a lack of centralized prerequisites for individuals seeking employment in this capacity, the education, experience, and background requirements are far from standard. Likewise, training for law enforcement officers varies by jurisdiction and co-response model. The paper aims to comprehensively review current best practices and identify gaps in training and program outcomes for further research.

 

Biografia do Autor

Bianca Eloi, Palo Alto University

Dr. Bianca Eloi is a recent Palo Alto University graduate with research interested in co-response, mass casualty events, extreme overvalued beliefs, hate groups, violence risk assessment, and the psychology of terrorism. She graduated from San Diego State University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a minor in Portuguese. She earned a master’s in mental health counseling at Long Island University, Brooklyn, before pursuing her doctoral degree. Her primary clinical interests are in the areas of competency restoration treatment, sex offender treatment, and criminal and civil forensic assessment.

Addison Shemin, Palo Alto University

Addison is a fourth-year clinical psychology Ph.D. student at Palo Alto University.  She received an M.A. in cultural anthropology from the University of Arkansas with an emphasis in psychological anthropology and a M.S. degree in psychology from Palo Alto University. Addison is interested in co-response models for collaborative care between police officers and mental health professionals during crisis intervention and emergency care and risk assessment used by law enforcement and mental health practitioners and their effectiveness for adult populations with SMI.

Anna Feinman, University of New Mexico

Dr. Anna Feinman is a forensic postdoctoral fellow at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine. She graduated with her Ph.D. from Palo Alto University. Her primary clinical interests include competency restoration treatment and criminal and civil forensic assessment. Her research interests include lone-wolf terrorism, extreme overvalued beliefs, hate groups, violence risk assessment, and supervision in forensic assessment.

Francesco Yepez-Coello, Palo Alto University

Francesco is a second-year student in Palo Alto University's Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program. His clinical interests include pediatric behavioral health and expanding access to healthcare for marginalized communities. Francesco received a B.A. in Psychology from George Mason University. His current research interests include developing Spanish-language, culturally sensitive suicide risk assessments as well as working with law enforcement to mitigate the risk of violence during crisis interventions. His research interests include suicide prevention and community-based crisis response to mental health emergencies.

Jacie Brown, Palo Alto University

Dr. Jacie Brown is a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program graduate at PAU. She received her Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Ferris State University. She was a doctoral intern at Rutgers University, focusing on correctional health care. She has experience in neuropsychological, psychodiagnostic, cognitive, and personality assessment. Her primary research interests include the psychology of law enforcement culture, clinical emergencies, as well as risk assessment and management.

Roshni Joseph, Palo Alto University

Roshni Joseph is a fourth-year clinical psychology PhD student at Palo Alto University. Her areas of professional interest include studying the intersection of psychology and the criminal justice system, first responder and veteran mental health crises, suicide, and incorporating digital therapeutics into existing therapy modalities. 

Matthew Schumacher, Palo Alto University

Dr. Matthew Schumacher earned his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Northern Illinois University and completed his internship at the Naval Medical Center, San Diego, CA. Dr. Schumacher is a National Security Psychologist and Consultant for the LASD Detective Division and a research consultant with Palo Alto University's crisis and clinical emergencies research group. He is an expert in military and national security psychology, psychological response to disasters, and psychiatric emergencies, and has robust experience teaching medical, special operations, intelligence, and law enforcement personnel.

Bruce Bongar, Palo Alto University

Dr. Bruce Bongar is a Calvin distinguished professor of psychology at Palo Alto University and the research advisor for the crisis and clinical emergencies research group. He has been interested in the psychology of mass casualty events and suicide terrorism. His research and published work reflect his long-standing interest in the wide-ranging complexities of therapeutic interventions with difficult patients and in suicide and life-threatening behaviors.

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Publicado

2025-05-01

Como Citar

Eloi, Bianca, Addison Shemin, Anna Feinman, Francesco Yepez-Coello, Jacie Brown, Roshni Joseph, Matthew Schumacher, e Bruce Bongar. 2025. “Police and Mental Health: Exploring Co-Response Models and Best Practices”. International Journal of Police Science 4 (1). https://doi.org/10.56331/ijps.v3i2.8003.

Edição

v. 4 n. 1 (2025): Special Issue: Crises in Policing

Seção

Review Articles

Licença

Copyright (c) 2025 Bianca Eloi, Addison Shemin, Anna Feinman, Francesco Yepez-Coello, Jacie Brown, Roshni Joseph, Matthew Schumacher, Bruce Bongar

Creative Commons License

Este trabalho está licenciado sob uma licença Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license.