The Police and People with Mental Illness: New Approaches to a Longstanding Problem

Abstract

During the past four decades, fundamental changes in mental health and law enforcement policies have brought criminal justice professionals into increasing contact with people with serious mental illness (PSMI). This contact occurs at every stage of the criminal justice process. The police, who are the gatekeepers of the criminal justice system, interact frequently with PSMI. The current article introduces this special issue of the Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations, which is devoted to the study of the police and PSMI. Although many of the articles discuss the use of Crisis Intervention Teams, which are the most common law enforcement strategy for responding to calls that involve individuals in crisis, the volume addresses many other critical concerns that pertain to police interactions with special or vulnerable populations. Containing 17 original articles on the topic, this collection is one of the most comprehensive and varied of its kind to date.